Moons of Red
by Dark and Chaotic
Summary: Orochimaru summons cosplayers into the Narutoverse. The cosplayers wreak havoc upon everything that is to happen, in both subtle and unsubtle fashion. What once was a story, now is an epic adventure that is surely going to end with a Big Bang. Earth meets Narutoverse, the cosplayers meet their idols, and Kami just doesn't give a damn. Rated M for violence, gore and mature themes.
1. Prologue

**Author's note**: Well, this has been an on-going project for the last two years and I am proud to present the result of the combined hard work of my sister and me. I've done a mother lode of work on character development and I hope the results would be good a.k.a. plenty of reviews!

**Summary**: The AFC- the biggest Naruto Fanclub on the planet, along with several other individuals, are sucked into the Naruto Universe. They're separated and alone and they have to not only find out how to get home, but they also have to cope with their new but familiar powers and they have to face the hard choice of changing the future of an entire realm or not.

**Disclaimer**: It will be written only in this chapter as it would apply for my entire work. The Naruto concept belongs to Kishimoto, Final Fantasy, Death Note, Bleach and any other existing party in this fiction belong to their respectful owners and I do not claim any rights on them. The original characters that appear in this fiction belong to me if not appointed otherwise on a further note.

**Chapter 1**: Secret love

**Paris, 2005, 7.5 years ago**

A 17-year-old girl with long red silky hair was looking around nervously. Her stormy gray eyes were twinkling with panic. She was lost in the middle of the City of Love. And she had to have lunch with her parents in 1 hour.

Thick eyelashes, small straight nose and a slightly pronounced jaw-line were all gracing her face. Her rosy-red lips had formed a semi-nervous pout and from time to time she anxiously bit on her lower lip. She was dressed with smart clothes, perfect for the weather or early-summer Paris. White shirt with long black pants, both perfectly ironed. Black sandals with a low heel shone by the rays of the morning sun.

Her name was Rose Romano, daughter of Patrick Romano and Lucrecia Romano, the most successful lawyers in the United States. The rose had yet to bloom, however, as she was still a shy girl.

She had lost her parents. Yes, high school Rose Romano was a nerd, a bookworm, and it was her Harvard years that would ultimately turn her into the tempest known as Madam Leader.

'Ok, don't panic. All will be fine. All I have to do is find my way back to the hotel…' a look of determination appeared and she semi-confidently strode forward, setting course to the nearest person.

"E-excuse me? S-sir?" she started shyly.

The man turned around. He was nothing to be remembered with- he was a plain local Parisian. Sadly, he didn't know English and since Rose didn't know French, every last hope in finding her hotel was crushed by the cruel irony of the world.

After several hours and one Latte later, Rose was even more lost. Her feet hurt from walking and it seemed that despite the fact Paris was one of the most popular tourist destinations; she had the awful chance of not being able to find anyone who could speak English. The world was cruel.

At the moment our heroine was in a more suburbial part of Paris, a rather cute-looking rich neighborhood. How she had gotten there, she had no idea. There was a small area, a small park with all kind of swings for small children and toddlers. She sat herself tiredly on one of the benches and sighed sorrowfully. She hated Paris.

"Hello!"

The voice startled Rose and she swiftly looked up to end up face to face with a blue-eyed blond kid. She looked at her dumbfoundedly, too tired to register what had happened at first. Then it happened. Her eyes grew with realization.

"You speak English!!" she cried of joy and hugged the blond girl tightly." My prayers have been answered!"

Rose let go of the girl and took a better look at her. She was a bit on the short side, slightly plushier than an average girl her age. She had a baby-face and her long, wavy blond hair was just bellow her bottom. The blond girl wore… orange. Who wore an orange jacket over a white shirt in such a hot day? The 10-year old didn't seem bothered, though.

"Can you help me find my hotel? I am lost." Rose said with pleading eyes.

"Sure!" the girl answered with a smile.

'Thank you Lord!' Rose sent a silent thank you to God.

"But first you have to do something for me!"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Come to my Birthday party!"

"Huh?"

The little angel-looking girl had a foxy grin on her face.

"I had told my class mates that I have a really cool friend from the USA." She started. Then, with a worried look on her face she asked apprehensively," You are from the USA, right?"

"Yes, I am, but…"

"Awesome! We'll have a lot of fun! I hope you like chocolate cake!"

The girl grabbed Rose's hand and pulled the helpless brunette towards her house. And, boy was her house full of guests. There were around 30 children, her classmates, Rose mused, all playing games in the yard and around 15 more kids that she later found out were Fia's cousins. And they were all playing on the front yard.

The girl's house was a rather big for such a neighborhood. It was what one could call a model house. The house was two-stories plus an attic inside the roof, which, it seemed, had also been turned into useable rooms by the look of the fine curtains on the windows on the roof.

The house itself was white. In fact, everything about it was either white, pale or in baby colors. The building itself was booming with music. When the girl led Rose inside the living room, which was full with adults, nobody seemed to notice her. This was the girl's birthday, right?

Until then, Rose had wanted to speak with the girl's parents, find her way back to the hotel and leave as soon as possible…she didn't want to intrude, after all. But seeing as this lovely girl was all alone on her own birthday…she even had to make fake friends in order for people to notice her at all…

She felt pity for her. In that fateful moment, she decided to truly become this otherwise friendly and cheerful girl's friend.

The blond made her way through the thick crowd of adults inside the house and finally stopped at a woman with dyed blond hair. That was probably her mother.

"Mom! This is the American friend I told you about! K'thanks'bye!" as soon as Rose had taken a breath after all this dragging (this was one strong little girl!), the pulling started yet again, not giving the girl's mother even a chance to glance at her daughter.

The said woman was talking to an elderly looking woman in her late fifties. She had registered her daughter's words but had paid them no heed. In fact, she tried to cover it up by giggling lightly, as if her daughter's behavior was completely normal.

"Aww…isn't it sweet? Still, she is a little bit old for imaginary friends but I guess I've pampered her too much, now haven't I?" she flashed a beautiful smile, the same as her daughter's," I wish she was more like the normal girls and listened to me more once in a while at least…" She sighed semi-dramatically. "She is a bit of an odd-ball…"

Her last words were said detestedly, almost uncaringly cold, despite the façade of a perfect mother and a working wife of the modern world.

"But my dear!" started her mother-in-law, just as sweetly, covering up the actual cold tone with which she wanted to scold her, "The young lady she presented was a rather fine red-headed American girl. She looks nice. You should talk later with her."

The girl's mother paled.

"That wasn't an imaginary friend?" she seemed horrified.

"Why would it be?"

As the blond girl dragged Rose around the house, the young red-head began to have a better idea of who this kid was. The house was amazingly tidy and the style in each room was unique and yet fitted the rest of the house perfectly. Family pictures, old and new, hung on every wall, revealing not only of what kind of family this girl was, but also, judging by the older pictures… how old her family tree was.

Rose examined them curiously. On the pictures on which the girl was present she seemed to smile brightly and immediately brought attention to herself with that amazing cheerfulness. Her mother seemed so perfectly elegant in her fashion that the red-head was fascinated with how organized that woman looked. She also seemed exceptionally calm and cold and seemingly did not notice the girl next to her on the pictures.

The girl's father, she hadn't seen him personally, but on the pictures… that man was a pure stud. He was tall and handsome, very fit and seemed almost aristocratic, regal. The girl physically looked like both of them. She was as beautiful as her mother; it was already visible that the girl was going to turn into a gorgeous young woman. She had, however, the same determined face of her father…and his blue eyes. And yet she seemed so different than them Rose could compare them to the elements. Her father was like the earth… such powerful presence… she could feel it radiating from the pictures. Her mother was calm and cold, like water…she seemed to be an intelligent and calculating woman…she did not like her.

And yet, here she was. Their daughter- the element of fire. There was so much silent rage within her, Rose was sure of it. The pain of lacking people who understood you… she knew it all too well…

While Rose was shy, the girl dealt with the problem with sheer cheerfulness and friendliness. That girl seemed to have harnessed the elements of her parents, however. She possessed her father's presence- one could see it in her eyes, and she possessed her mother's intelligence by the looks of all the photos of awards the girl had received during her short life… she seemed to be adept with computers, biology, science… everything.

"…and this here is my room!" the girl finally let go of her hand and went in front of her. She theatrically spread her arms to show the door to her room. She opened it and motioned Rose inside. On the second floor of the house it was quieter than downstairs and it was empty. The girl's room was average of size. Unlike a normal girl room, this one contained little to none girlie/Barbie dolls and mostly collectible Transformers or Beast Wars toys, an army of Dinosaurs which seemed to be ordered in terms of evolutionary development. Apart from the shelves covered in collectibles, the girl had the most intriguing collection of Swords on her wall. She also had a weird white and blue shield with some weird symbols on it and a lion's head in the middle.

Next to the window there was a desk with what seemed to be a dismantled lap top and a piece of paper with some schematics on it, titled "The Bible". On the window frame there were some small statues which Rose recognized as characters from a computer game. The weirdest thing in the room (apart from the dismantled laptop) was the girl's possession of an Electrical technician's tools. It was a big layered case that was opened up and reminded her of a separate shelf. The tools were perfectly ordered.

On the walls there were also posters of the Harry Potter movies, which were signed by the various actors of the movies; there was also one poster of Naruto, some anime that she had accidentally seen on the kiddie channel once.

If the room wasn't pink, she would've been sure this was a boy's room.

"Impressive." was all she could reluctantly say.

"Is it? I've bought all of this by myself!" she waved her hand at her crazy Transformers collection. "And these were from my Grandmother." She pointed at the Dinosaur collection.

She then walked over to the shield and the weird sword next to it.

"These are my pride," she pointed and the sword, "and my joy." She pointed respectively to the shield. "Frostmourne replica and High lord Bolvar's shield!"

"Uh-huh."

"And this will become the most powerful super-computer of the century!" she boasted at the laptop parts. "Just don't tell dad… it's his laptop… he thinks he forgot it at the train a week ago!" she added in a conspirative voice.

The blond kid seemed creepy but despite the initial icy shiver down her spine at the prospect something like her existed in the world, she found her cool in her own nerdy way. Yes, Rose was a nerd… but this little girl was a Super- Nerd! Scary, seriously! And she was only what? Probably 10 years old. She seemed smarter than she looked and that was what made her uncomfortable.

Rose Romano was a very insightful girl, after all she was to be a fifth generation lawyer in her family and the right genes to make her a really good lawyer were combined in her… sort of… And despite her being a genuinely insightful and smart person… this girl seemed eons ahead of her, even if she hid it behind immaturity and cheerfulness.

"Let's go downstairs! I want you to meet my best friend MJ, and my cousin Hatorri, and my eternal nemesis and rival, fellow genius Leopold!" she said that rather too vigorously. Rose nodded apprehensively and was yet again dragged by the mercy of the kid's temper.

She didn't even know her name!

"MJ!!! Hatorri!" she yelled.

Rose finally noticed two distinctly dark-haired and pale kids, sitting away from the rest of the commotion. The girl, MJ was of pale pink complexion and she had crystal blue eyes, unlike the vivid sky-blue orbs of the hyper blond girl. Her hair was straight, dark and silky, drawn back by a red diadem. The girl wore a formal looking simple black dress over a white buttoned cotton shirt with short sleeves. On her feet she wore shiny shoes over white silken socks. She slightly reminded her of Alice in Wonderland. But the resemblance ended there. The pale black haired girl seemed so calm and gentle and yet her eyes were watching the laughing, playing and dancing crowd with stone cold dejection. This was not her type of amusement, or maybe there was more to it? This girl seemed somewhat sad and withered with sorrow despite the happy occasion. At the sight of the blond girl however, this MJ seemed to have immediately cheered up and when she looked at their way she merely smiled slightly and gave a curt nod of recognition to the blond girl.

She was sitting on a sofa with the Asian-looking boy who seemed extremely out of it. He had buds in his ears and he was obviously listening to music, that was louder than what was already played in the house…how he could take the noise, she could only guess. He was of pale Asian complexion, unlike MJ's obviously European complexion. He had raven-black hair which was cut short but with bangs and very short locks of hair. He wore a white cotton shirt and a pair of loose shorts and a pair of white sneakers on his feet. Apparently he was completely completely content with his little sound chaos and was even bobbing his head with his own music and silently sung along with it, eyes closed.

MJ looked at him and her face took upon a light scold. She, a bit roughly, shoved him out of his musical nirvana and pointed at the blond girl and her companion.

"Uh, oh." He blinked a few timed. His eyes were the purest onyx she had ever seen. They seemed dark and mysterious and he seemed to be very handsome even at his age. He stretched and yawned and then smiled sheepishly. "Yo!" he greeted them with a wide friendly smile.

"As I said earlier, these are my best friend, MJ, and my all time fave cousin, Hatorri."

"Hello, my name is Rose Romano, pleased to meet you." She smiled shyly stretched out a hand.

"My name is Hatorri Johnson. My mom's an American Japanese, my dad and Fia's dad," he pointed the now identified girl, "are identical twins so were like brother and sister. Oh, and I am NOT an Uchiha if you were about to ask."

"I wasn't going to."

"Michael Jessica Keats. Fiona's best friend and appointed sidekick by said friend. Me and Mr. Not-Emo here both." She said in a bored manner. "I would like to apologize for any future inconvenience I might cause. My dad wanted…another… boy, but mom gave him a cynic." When she was done speaking, she went back to staring dejectedly at the guests.

"Nice to meet you too, I guess…"

"So! You still have to meet with Leopold! This way, guys!"

The group of four made their way to another part of the residence. Fia gave them the signal to wait for her and she disappeared into the crowd and reappeared with a slightly annoyed looking boy with reddish hair and hazel eyes.

"And this, ladies and Gent, is Leo!"

"They already know me, you dolt."

"But Rosy doesn't!"

"Hi." Rose waved shyly at the boy.

* * *

Charlotte Georgiana woke up with a start. She was covered in cold sweat. For the past three months she had almost no sleep at all. And whenever she had a wink of sleep she would always wake up like this – crying, covered in cold sweat, shivering and frightened. She could remember any of her night terrors but she knew what the root of them was- the death of her parents in a car crash 3 months ago.

Charlotte stood up and turned on the lights of her room. She looked at herself in the mirror. Messy shoulder-length blood red hair was hanging loosely. Pale skin, cherry colored lips, blue-green eyes, surrounded by forming dark rings.

The 7-year old sighed. There were no new scars. Usually, after most of the night terrors she would scratch her face with her own nails. That was the reason why she always kept them as short as possible. She still hadn't fully understood the severity of her parents' deaths but ever since that day she had found it hard to speak to other people.

She could still see it in front of her eyes every little detail of that day…She had woken up early that day. Mom and dad had been fighting as of lately and she wanted to make them happy with breakfast in bed. Needless to say 7-year olds were not good at preparing dinner. The red-headed girl had stealthily gone to the kitchen where she took out a frying pan to make some bacon and eggs.

On that morning her parents had woken up from the smell of something severely burned, the sounds of the fire alarm going on, and the fire hoses going of, wetting everything in the house.

Of course, the two very angry and also very wet parents found little Charlie holding two watered dishes with slightly burned bacon and eggs- it was the frying pan that had burst in flames. Apart from being grounded for a month for this, Charlie had also been heavily yelled at.

The Georgiana's were not the best parents. Philip Georgiana was an aspiring musician, a true virtuoso of the violin and the piano. His wife, Marina, was a well- off businesswoman. Both of them were people of their careers and seldom gave attention to their lovely little girl- Charlotte.

Usually she sought their attention but they were always busy, or they would always tell her to be silent or not to bother their very important guests.

That day had been a very rainy day. Charlotte had been seated on the sofa while the maids were trying to dry the other furniture in the house. She was watching the weather channel, the weatherman saying that there was heavy rain in entire France due to some weird cyclone or something. There was nothing interesting on the kiddy channel and so she sat there watching the daily news.

Her parents were now dry and ready to go to their respective work places. Everyone was swiftly moving around her. But it was as if time had moved on without her. She felt unnoticeable and unlike normal happy children, she seldom smiled or laughed.

Her father left his Violin in its cover next to her on the sofa while he was fixing his tie. Her mother was doing the final touches of make up on her face.

"Come, Charlotte, thanks to the little stunt you pulled you are late for school... Feel lucky your father and I have decided to phone your teacher about your current situation."

"But, Mother…"

"No "but, mother" me, young lady! Chop-chop! Your father is waiting for you in the car."

Charlotte did not answer. She stood up and followed her mother to the car. It was raining heavily outside and no sooner that she walked outside her house was she soaked to the bone. Her mother sighed in irritation.

"Are you dumb like that no-good father of yours that you didn't take an umbrella? Get into the car; you've given me enough head aches for an entire week today."

Even though the words hurt her deeply, Charlotte did not answer and entered the vehicle.

The drive to her school was uneventful. Her father was driving, a slight scold marring his otherwise handsome but cold face. Indeed, Charlotte was like her father in many ways. She had his red hair and blue-green eyes. She also possessed his love for music. But she was also like her mother- her skin, her beautiful face…

They used to hug, to kiss, to laugh with each other…. She couldn't understand why they suddenly stopped doing that. One day she had just woken up to the two of them arguing about something. She couldn't quite catch their words. Were they like this because of her? Was she a burden to them? Her father looked at her with little to no emotion at all and her mother always scolded her ever since that day.

They still slept in the same room but there was an invisible wall between them… She tried asking them once but all her mother did was yell at her for asking stupid questions. Then she had sent her to her room…

She feared that they were going to leave her…and she felt so angry at herself for that… they were going to abandon her, she knew it!

That day had been uneventful. School was dull as usual. It was only a few weeks before summer vacation but unlike the other kids she wasn't waiting for it with anticipation. She liked school because that was the time in which she wasn't yelled at or sent to her room. Her teacher was always nice. She had her fair share of problems with math but she excelled in the music class. Her teacher had told her she had the making of a great singer… not that her parents cared. With the beginning of her first year in school she had also started taking violin and piano lessons from good friends of her fathers. It was in favor of her learning how to be organized and responsible.

She did not have pets. Her mother was allergic to cats and she hated anything that was furry, and had deemed even goldfish a dangerous hazard. Charlotte however had a wonderful collection of plushies. Her favorite one was a giant raccoon like plushy which she had named Ron. After Ron Weasley. He was her favorite character in the Harry Potter books. She was an only child and one of her greatest dreams was to have an older brother like him… or at least not be an only child.

That day had been uneventful…until, while waiting for her father to pick her up, she had heard one of the teachers murmuring how her parents were going to divorce and the rumor was that neither of them wanted custody over her.

That was too much for little, gentle Charlotte. She ran. And it was raining so heavily that no one saw her leave the premises of the school yard. She kept running until she found herself on unfamiliar streets. And even then she kept running, knocking down a few people in her way.

It was getting dark and the rain was no close to stopping. She was soaked to the bone, tired and hungry. She saw a large white house and she saw a window open. It might have been around 11 pm and the lights were out in this house. Maybe she could hide herself for the night?

As soon as she had snuck inside the house, a police car passed by. Charlotte seemed to be in some kind of basement. It was warm inside and there were some boxes with what seemed to be clothes. She was very cold and she needed to change her clothes. For her luck, in one of the bags she found a girl's clothes similar to her size. She changed into them. They were too orange for her taste but she was dry now. She took a T-shirt and used it to dry her hair. She hid behind the cartons and fell asleep on a make-shift bed from clothes.

She, however, did not know that that same night, her parents had died in a severe car crash while looking for her. She also did not know they were looking for her. She knew, though, that they were going to abandon her…

That morning she found herself being stared at by a blond blue-eyed girl…

Charlotte wiped the tears from her face. She now lived in a world of silence. During that first week without her parents, the will to speak seemingly left her fragile psyche. She hadn't been able to speak ever since…

The doctors had told her Uncle- the man she now lived with, that it her being mute was caused by sever psychological trauma and that it was not certain if she would ever speak again.

Now, 3 months later, she still couldn't speak. The wound was still as fresh as then. The only difference was those raccoon-like dark circles around her eyes. Her Uncle, Martin, her mom's sister, was a very kind person and did everything he could think of to keep her comfortable and happy. She rarely showed a positive emotion but when she did he was most joyous. She was still learning the sign language but she felt confident that she was going to use it properly and fully soon enough.

Since that horrible day she was what people referred to as a sleepwalker. She would get up at night and do normal or weird things. Sometimes she would attack people, she would scream, she would even speak, sing… she was different from her wake hours.

She still went to therapy. Her uncle had told her that she had locked herself inside her mind and that she was sleep walking because she couldn't find a way out. She trusted him because she was only 7 and because she wasn't old enough to understand how heavily damaged her psyche was.

She still had most of her old plushies with her, including Ron. She, however, had moved in with her uncle in the states and now was attending a normal elementary school there. The new environment was refreshing for her and she found herself having some new friends with which she could play with.

Life was slowly going back to normal for her…but the mental scars would take a miracle to heal…

* * *

One shot…two shots…three shots… Fire… FIRE!!! Every single bullet hit the mark. Every single bullet she fired hit straight into the 10 marker on the cardboard target. Her light hazel eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. The usually pale skin now bore a heavy tan due to her days in the heavy desert sun of Iraq.

Tiffany Mitchels was 21 years old, freshly returned from Iraq. The time she spent there was enough of a life-time of horrors. She used to be a tall 18 year old, very rugged and tough, but still surprisingly handsome young woman. She was feminine in her own way, despite being very athletic and lean. She was a tom boy. Peachy complexion, light hazel eyes, dirty blond hair…

Her greatest mistake was going to Iraq during the war. She thought she was tough enough to handle it. But she wasn't. Bombs and bullets were flaying about. Bodies were ripped apart. The entire operation was one big mistake. That child shouldn't have died. The whole war was a big mistake. She wished she had never gone there. But she had. Still, she managed to return home without further problems.

Her return was relatively normal. No one was there to meet her, since her father was still at the hospital, treating his injuries- he had fallen from the roof while trying to fix it. Life was supposed to go back to normal but it didn't.

Despite everything that happened, she still wanted more of that action. And that was why she was here now- to practice her own skills. She wanted to join the French Foreign Legion. And she knew she was going to enter- she was in top condition, she was rough and she was the best Sharpshooter in her state- California.

* * *

**AnimaCon, LA, 2012**

Have you ever heard of Naruto? Have you ever heard of Akatsuki? Or the AFC? Now you have. AFC or the Akatsuki Fan Club is the greatest Fan Club in the entire globe. It is also the so called mother of the Cosplayer Extraordinaire team of the AFC- the 52 starting members being the best Cosplayers out there. And those 52 met at the Louver, Paris, 7 years ago.

AFC was the Akatsuki Fan Club. It was part of the Alliance between Naruto, Inuyasha and Final Fantasy Cosplay groups, and some other minor ones.

The Trio's nemesis was the Alliance between the Gundams, Soul Society, and the Death Librarians.

For the outside world, those were just cosplay skits, but for the inside world, these skits were actually battles for supremacy between the groups of the fanclubs. It was a battle of Alliances, or, as one of the main characters would say: " It's a PvP doggy dog world out there, and every Con is a battleground. Winning is a must. But even if we lose a battle, the war is yet to be won. After all, no revenge is sweet, but pay back is always a bitch."

As of lately, however, the number of accidents between those two alliances had immensely increased. For example, on the last Con, the famous Hyuuga squads were 'attacked' by the Shinigami Captain squad. The confrontation resulted in the police forces having to lock them up for 24 hours.

Among the AFC Inner Circle ( the starting 52) there was a Hyuuga Squad, Kage Squad, Akatsuki Squad, an Uchiha squad… but among them of greater importance for now were these several individuals:

Among the Inner Circle there were 10 Akatsuki members who possessed the rings, with which the real Akatsuki were so famous with, along with the cloaks.

They were the Cosplayers of said Akatsuki members. Pein was cosplayed by a female version of him- a tall woman with more that pleasing feministic qualities, including a hypnotizing gaze, plumb lips, lavishing red hair, and ,most of all, her Tsunadean great big bust.

Her usually stormy gray eyes were now covered by Rinnengan contact lens, which made her look unusually intimidating. Fake golden and jeweled piercings, the same as the main Pein's, covered her face. Yes, she was Pein's sexy no Jutsu.

A very interesting twist of the original Akatsuki was Hidan's Cosplayer- Tifa. Tifa was a Senior Corporal of the French Foreign Legion, with characteristically white hair and purple contact lens eyes. Her hair wasn't bleached – according to rumors her hair grew white ever since her service in Iraq. She was as aggressive and swearing as the real Hidan.

**The Konan Cosplayer** was the mother of two- 2.5 year old son Vincent (mini Vincent Cosplay included) and 5 year old daughter Tifa (mini Tifa Lockheart Cosplay included, duh). She and her husband were Italian. Konan was a rather tan Italian woman. Her natural hair color was raven black but right now her hair was dark blue, while her naturally blue eyes contrasted a bit too much with her dark complexion. Her husband's name was Marco, and he was a Cloud Cosplayers. Both met 10 years ago during SakuraCon and married 8 years ago. It was pure chance that AFC came across them. Just like her idol, Konan, or as she was known by passport, Malena, was a master of origami.

**Deidara** was most likely the "Rum Tum Tugger" of the AFC. 1 blond, 5 Japanese otaku read-heads, 1 word- cake. The Deidara of the AFC was an artist. He was the ace of cakes. He created one of the most expensive and beautiful boutique cakes in Japan. Needless to say he had 5 red-head girlfriends which were the reason why he started cosplaying as Deidara. His real name was Deidara and he didn't have mouths on his hands or his chest. But with his cakes, one would wish they had. David did not believe his art was a bang. His art was fleeting, true, but his art was truly delicious.

Deidara was 166 cm tall and weighed 50.8 kg. David was 180 tall and 90 kg. Obviously a lot more sex on legs. He also possessed a lot of stamina both in his art and in bed. He was Australian. Went with the accent. Him and his Sasori partner both.

**Speaking of Sasori**…there wasn't much known about the Sasori Cosplayer. His connections with the group were purely business-like. His name was Sam and he was Australian. Rumor had it that he was a mercenary, assassin for hire. But those were just rumors, or were they?

**The Kisame Cosplayer** was very tall, 195 cm and he was from San Francisco. While Tifa was from LA, both of them were good friends from even before joining AFC and it was him that made her sign up for the French Foreign Legion. Both of them were Senior Corporals but while she trained her gunning skills in her spare time, he trained swords. It was only later, when both of them joined the AFC that his skills came in handy. His real name was Benjamin, Ben for short.

**The Zetsu Cosplayer** was a botanist. He was recruited by the AFC after a few of the members visited the big botanic garden he was taking care of. He was chosen for Zetsu not only because of his amazing knowledge of plants but also because when he was drunk he turned nasty.

**The Itachi Cosplayer** was probably the best and most natural Cosplayer of them all. She, yes, she- was a 16 year old British girl with blue eyes, pale skin and rosy gentle lips. Her name was Michael Jessica Keats and she was the Trickster World Champion. She specialized martial arts and was adept with different kinds of weapons, except guns and the like.

Her best friend was, ironically, **the Sexy no Jutsu Naruto Cosplayer**- Fiona Johnson. And she was the real founder of Akatsuki, hence the reason why she wore another Sasori ring. But unlike his, hers was turned with the stone down, as a symbol of her secretive status. Most of the AFC members were in some way trained in the martial arts. Unlike them, however, Fia was a cheerleader and, while very agile and vigorous, she was not what people would refer to as physically fit. She was 175 cm tall and 17 years old. She weighed 65 kg and apart from her bronze tan, contrasting blue eyes, and long blond wavy hair, she was most commonly remembered by her tight ass, thin waist and big bust.

To cut a long story short, all the members had their own story. But one's true character could be best revealed through a series of life changing events such as the ones that would eventually occur.

* * *

_**This is the new and edited prologue! Further characters will be added in the edited version of chapter 1 :D Enjoy!!  
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_**Please read and review… reviews are my fuel to rewrite the story from my notebook. Thank you!**_

_**Also added lines and some other minor details. Thank you for the reminder! Lines from Doc. don't work :((  
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	2. Transuniversal experience

**Chapter 2**: Frozen

AnimaCon was a very interesting convention for gamers and otakus, and normal people alike. As per usual there were contests of different kinds- best costumes, best skits and such. People sold their drawings or crafts there and during those 2 weeks of the convention there were parties and fireworks and such.

The AFC had its representatives there, of course, it being in LA and having one member living there in an unnecessarily large house by the beach was a bonus. As of lately, the AFC were exceptionally careful when going to cons. They didn't want any more police involvement. The lavishing Madam Leader, real name Rose Romano, was cat walking down the convention, followed by the dangerous stride of MJ, the Itachi Cosplayer, the ever-vigilant Hidan Cosplayer- Tifa, Naruko/ Fia's seductive sway and her slightly scolding-looking cousin Hatorri, their grudging Sasuke Cosplayer. They were a strange sight to see, especially in this time of day, and the combination of their Cosplay with normal accessories and clothing was very intriguing to see.

Madam Leader had her Akatsuki Cloak wide open, showing off her marvelous bosom. Beneath it she wore something similar to what ninja wore but her clothes were obviously sport-like, her feet donned with custom Addidas ninja sandals. Despite being a lot more modern looking, her clothes were perfect for ninja Cosplay. Her pale complexion seemed slightly peachy, slightly reddish, due to her sunbathing. She wore a pair of sunglasses which added up to her "cool" image.

Tifa was wearing the same type of sport/ninja pants and for a top she had the upper part of a black bikini set. On her neck she had the Jashin's Rosary. Her scythe was an actual copy of Hidan's scythe but she told people it was Plexiglas. She also wore sunglasses and her cloak was also opened up. It was too hot otherwise.

MJ was wearing similar clothes- black tank top, sport/ninja pants, ninja sandals. Apart from everything else she also had her Akatsuki hat- she hated the sun and used it to hide herself from it. It was not that she really hated it- she was very sensitive to the sun. She seemed calm and content right about now. There was nothing pink about to haunt her. On her back she had a back pack with her drawing stuff and other things.

Her eyes were covered by her Sharingan lens. They were dark red in color to be a bit more realistic. Three tomoes were visible whenever she looked about.

Fia was next to her. She looked a bit like a more promiscuous version of a Barbie doll. But it was only because her hairstyle, the clothes she wore and the make up. The beautiful blond girl carried herself with perfectly acted out promiscuousness and smuttiness. Her short orange skirt was just a few centimeters below her panties and there weren't a few but many who admired her beautacious qualities. She also wore a thin white cotton tank top with the swirly Uzumaki orange symbol on the front. It was a short tank top as it was just below her bust, revealing her belly which had the very feint patterns of the Kyuubi seal drawn upon it. She also wore an orange bra which was partly visible. On top she wore the trade mark Naruto jacket. It was hot but the light sea breeze kept things moderately cool. The non Cosplay things she wore included a thin golden chain on which she wore something that seemed to be a solar pendant. It was small but big enough to hide a microchip containing some of the AFC's greatest secrets and other information.

Fia's hairstyle was the Sexy no Jutsu twin ponytails which she had tied with orange ties. On her head she had a tennis hat… an orange tennis hat. Heavy eyeliner and long thick eyelashes made her stark blue eyes gleam like sapphires. She wore reddish glance on her lips and very small amounts of rouge on her cheeks. She also had the famous whisker marks drawn to look like scars by MJ. MJ was an amazing artist after all.

Hatorri was a very good looking young 18 year old man. He indeed looked like Sasuke Uchiha which was also the reason why he traveled next to his cousin, Fia. He was part of team seven and since they traveled with 3 of the Akatsuki he had to look at least a bit intimidating. He wore the Sound costume and a lot of fan girls swooned at his bare chest.

Occasionally people stopped to take photos with them. The 5 of them were looking for a nice restaurant where they could stop to have lunch. Finding an expensive enough restaurant outside of the convention in LA was an easy thing. Especially when one of the members had clients in such restaurant.

After all, Rose Romano was a fifth generation lawyer in her family.

After half an hour of randomly walking about, Madam Leader finally decided to call her personal driver and take them to one of her favorite restaurants in the whole of LA. Of course, she was a rich woman and a limousine was a must. They were still in Cosplay when they entered the anonymous very expensive restaurant. But from previous experience, Rose took measures and gave both Fia and Hatorri a set of Akatsuki clothing which, for her sake, had been added to the allowed dress code of the restaurant. The waiters had been used to the sight of the AFC members and the moment they saw them, they took them to their usual VIP corner.

Needless to say after three hours everyone was waiting for Fia to finish her fifth dessert. She truly was gluttonous. The rest were chatting lightly while she was barely moving with her swollen from food tummy.

"That was goooood" she said, obviously content.

"Heh, let's go Kyuubi-girl." Smiled MJ.

"Should we go back to the AnimaCon? Peter said he'll be about today and we need to make plans for crossover skit." Started Tifa. "And I really want to fight him, ya know?"

"We will go back soon enough… as soon as Fia can move again. Until then I suggest we head back to your house, Tifa. I want to fix my piercings and my hair."

It was late afternoon when they finally returned to the AnimaCon. The music was playing loud and Peter was yet to show up. He had to come along with Kate, his wife (Aerith Cosplayer), Marco and Malena, Tifa and Vincent, AND a couple a' more other Final Fantasy Cosplayers. Until then, they spend their time sprawled upon a few benches, Fia using Madam Leader's lap as a pillow and her Akatsuki cloak as a blanket.

Rose took a deep breath and closed her eyes, drawing her head back. She basked in the last rays of the sun for the day. How she enjoyed these moments of utter bliss. The laughter and music about her reminded her of why she joined the AFC in the first place- the feeling of belonging.

Suddenly, however, she felt a shadow hide the sun rays. She opened one eye lazily. The shadow was cast by no other than the leader of the Death Librarians – Light. As one could guess, he was a unique copy of the character he cosplayed. He was also an old friend and nemesis of Fia- Leo.

"What do you want, heathen?" L-chan lazily drawled.(Madam Leader was also known as L-chan.)

"I simply came to negotiate, madam. „Light answered with a mockingly businesslike tone.

"Go away, Darkness, I'm busy sleeping…" Fia mumbled in her sleep and turned her back to Light, effectively tucking herself with her Akatsuki cloak and stretching her bare feet's toes and finally hiding them underneath her makeshift cover of an Akatsuki Cloak. L-chan smiled and started patting Fia as if she was a kitten that was sleeping in her lap.

"Don't mind her… she is sleeping…What do you want to negotiate about, my dear nemesis?" L-chan was a lawyer, after all.

Light smiled and sat on Madam Leader's right side. He could be described as flirtatiously diplomatic. Rose didn't like him, not one bit. But the rules of Cosplay Chivalry demanded civilized conversations. Light was Fia's schoolmate and he was just as smart as her. They used to have a decent acquaintance until he started to hit on her.

"My colleagues and I were thinking about making a compilation skit. The fans are wondering why there are none. And we supply what the public demands, don't we?"

Light was seventeen and L-chan was 25. Light wasn't hiding the fact he liked L-chan and he was doing everything possible to make her date him. He always got what he wanted, except for L-chan, and that drove him nuts.

For a few minutes the two (three but Fia was sleeping) of them sat in silence while L-chan was obviously ignoring Light, while thinking of an appropriate answer. In that silent period of time L- chan absent-mindedly was looking at the cheery crowd, which was constantly on the move. It appeared as if the dynamics of the surrounding world disconcerned the bench area. It was as if a line had been drawn between the Elite Cosplayers and the general crown of fans, separating the last moments of spring and the awaited beginning of the summer vacation.

The air was filled with a sense of expectation, a slight nostalgia for the spring and an unrealized excitement. Or so it was in the bench's area. L-chan's common sense was telling her that such atmosphere should not exist. The Con was a place in the space-time continuum in which none of the aspects of real life concerned the participants of the event and the imaginary bubble their little group was surrounded with was nothing else but a warning in the beautiful woman's eyes to get the heck out of there.

A good ninja always took in all aspects of their surrounding environment, even the slightest glimpses of unnormalties.

As realization had already dawned minutes ago, even if she hadn't realized it fully yet, all the drowsiness and laziness evaporated as fast as a drop of water on a white hot sheet of metal. L-chan turned calmly to Light and with her usual attitude towards Light and stared intently into his eyes with her stormy gray orbs. He was smirking slightly while enjoying her curvaceous and luxurious appearance. The Leader of the AFC wondered whether he was thinking about he or some kind of evil plan to take over her club.

It was a silent battle between gods. The air filled with tenseness which gradually raised high enough to stir Fia fully awake, even if she still appeared to be sleeping. Even the other three of the group felt that something was wrong.

The young man sitting next to her smirked a bit more prominently, while a glint of malice was glistering in his eyes. On the other hand, L-chan was lustfully calm and emitted all of her royal glory through those passionate stormy gray orbs.

"I am still waiting for your answer, madam Leader." The flirt in his voice was obvious.

"Then you will wait a few more years until it is legally alright to answer everything, Light" With that the five Akatsuki rose themselves and at the same time skillfully disappeared in the great mass of people.

On Light's casual's face was only visible the slightest whisp of a shadow of a frown, marking how truly furious he was. And he thought he had them this time. His men had surrounded them without them noticing! How truly devious was his sweetheart. The hunt was on as the five Akatsuki members had a few seconds lead.

Light smirked maliciously and his excitement was obvious. This time he won't let them escape. Both parties were moving swiftly and silently through the mob, the outsiders of this battle not even noticing how they were standing on a battlefield.

L-chan was mentally cursing as she was dialing numbers on her mobile phone, while nearly running her way to the parking lot.

In a situation like this, where the AFC's position could be compromised by the enemy organizations, there were several drills. Today they were using the 'every man for himself'-drill.

"Over there!"

The red-haired beauty saw as a group of Soul Society members surrounded her officers Fia and MJ. They were five and the girls – only 2. What kind of a leader would she be to leave them like this? L-chan swiftly changed her direction and, as the battle started, charged and knocked down on the ground two of the attackers. But the commotion brought the attention of their other pursuers, as well as the attention of the police that patrolled the area.

The three ladies were surrounded in a circle by a mixture of Shinigami and Librarians. Light stepped inside the circle and walked over to L-chan.

"I love it when you are so furious, madam. I say you give up to avoid attention." His smirk widened as he could smell a nearing victory.

Fia and MJ had taken defensive stances next to their leader. The policemen nearby were eyeing the situation carefully, assessing whether it was a skit or a real up-coming brawl.

Again, silence within the bubble had ensued. Everyone was waiting for L-chan's response. This time she could not twist her words. The honor of the AFC was at stake. Her honor was at stake.

Only L-chan's slightly creased eyebrows exhibited how grave the situation was. The tension had risen beyond boiling point and for the first time in many years the vicious queen of thugs and cutthroats hesitated about her answer.

And, as if sensing her commander's discomfort, Fia took the situation in her hands.

"As the honorable Maito Gai says," she started. L-chan turned her head swiftly towards the Naruto-girl.

She had the same determination and fierceness as the Kyuubi-kid. L-chan felt so proud of her in that particular moment. The leader knew what she was going to say. She also knew that there was no backing down now.

MJ, Fia and L-chan looked at each other and shouted fiercely like lionesses:

"THE LOTUS BLOOMS TWICE!"

The three young ladies attacked so swiftly and surprisingly that Light had no time to react.

Yet again, the ninja wanna-be's proved their supremacy over enemy anime and manga. And Light found out that L-chan was not only amazingly beautiful, but also very strong. His area, of which one should not speak of, would be swollen for days ahead.

Having startled the enemy, someone threw a smoke bomb. Apparently, Tifa had found an escape route and was swift enough to change her attire with her desert military one. Needless to say, she was holding a real grenade thrower. And to further startle the local militia, she shot a few flash grenades up in the sky, creating the needed diversion for her fellow members to escape.

"GO! GO! GO! GO!" Fanny yelled at the three Akatsuki girls and the four vanished out of sight.

Hatorri, along with Madam Leader's private driver were waiting in the limousine.

The driver parked the limousine in front of Tifa's house.

"I hope this won't intervene with my going to university." Hattori said grimly. "As much as I like it here, I still think medicine is my priority for the next 15 years."

"My dearest Hanzo-sama," Madam Leader started sweetly. She just couldn't get angry at him. He was the best Shippuuden-Sasuke. "You can study medicine as long as you like. But we will still kidnap you when we need you. Even during lectures."

"Rose? Peter will be mad that we're not here." Fia added but to deaf ears.

All four Inner Circle members nodded in confirmation. Hattori sighed in defeat and followed them inside the house.

On the next day the AnimaCon had reached its apogee and the five AFC people were in the middle of one of their best skits. Namely Naru-chan trying to convince Sasuke to return to Konoha, while L-chan and Fanny were flirting with him. And just as the three of them were actually pulling him in a tug-o'-war, smoke filled the stage and Itachi's ghost ( MJ ) appeared and helped Naru-chan with pulling Sasuke. Fia, though, didn't need help. It was only part of the show. In a real tug-o'-war it took five full grown adults as fit as Fanny just to manage her advance in the game. She was unnaturally strong, and, given how fragile she looked, it was literally a hidden line of sorts. Hattori was also quite strong, which proved somewhat L-chan's theory that hideous strength was a blood line of the Johnson 'clan'. Strength, cuteness and genius made Fia evil from time to time. But she never overdid it. At least she thought so. The blond had incredible control and never hurt people who weaker than her. At least not physically. I never said mentally. If anything, that weird girl had principles.

Back to the story, Sasuke had enough idiotism and left to write depressing poetry. The skit ended. It was a success since the AFC members were so natural on the stage.

As they gathered to bow down to the crowd, L-chan noticed Light yet again. He was giving her evil smirks. Today though, L-chan made sure to travel in the company of the Brotherhood ( ShinRa in Japanese ), whose representatives at the Con were more than 50. The AFC leader smirked back and blew him a sexy kiss. Light was obviously surprised but also pleased. He was about to ensue another hunt, when somebody placed a gloved hand on his shoulder.

He turned around to see no other than Sephiroth himself. He was the leader of ShinRa and an exact copy of the one-winged angle. Naturally, he was quite intimidating and tall. His long silver hair was dyed, but his own never the less. The general pulled the smaller than him Light and L-chan only saw Sephiroth's tall figure swimming its way through the crowd. As she looked around, ShinRa members had taken strategic places. If AFC was the greatest Fanclub, the ShinRa was the most dangerous one. The clubs often did drills together. It was fun.

The AFC skit was leaving the stage when an explosion was heard and everything blacked out. When the smoke cleared and the lights were on again, there was no sign of the five AFC members. The Brotherhood searched high and low for them. Was it some kind of a trap? With L-chan gone, there was no telling what would happen inside the AFC. The enemy organization was going to pay – namely Light, who was officially held hostage by the ShinRa.

Peter, Sephiroth's real name, could not think of a way to kidnap a group of people in the middle of a crowd with no one noticing. If they didn't find them soon, Light's head was going to roll. An angry Peter was a scary Sephiroth.

"Where did you take them, mortal!" Sephiroth yelled fiercely in Light's face. Light was trapped to a chair, handcuffs on his wrists and also on his feet.

Light was calm and collected, as most leaders, but in this case he was hard pressed by Sephiroth's interrogation methods. After all, the Final Fantasy ex-general was master of fear-factor.

"I didn't take them anywhere."

"You didn't. But your friends did."

"If I were in your shoos, I would be freaking out as well, Sephiroth." Light said calmly. Did the guy have a soul at all? This was no role-play! Four of the most important members of the AFC were missing and Light was talking to him as if they were drinking tea. That only infuriated the silver-haired one-winged angel even further. Light was always honest. Well, the man behind the Light persona, that is. Something was amiss and that something told Peter and that something told Peter that Light had nothing to do with their disappearance. He was getting more worried by the second.

The five AFC members had been moving strategically slow down the stage, giving the Brotherhood enough time to seize their enemies. It was then that a bright flash of light surrounded them.

At first, time slowed down as the light intensified. It was like a shield of non-existing material. The five AFC members were glued to their spots by intense pressure and a humongous gravitational pull.

"What's going on?" Tifa managed to mutter with much difficulty.

Among the five of them only Fia managed to move. She grasped MJ's and L-chan's hands tightly.

"Please let it be what I want it to be!" she shouted excitedly. Hattori looked at her. He felt an odd itch where his temporary Orochimaru bite mark was.

All of them felt great amount of power being embedded into them. The bright light turned into utter darkness. All of them were pierced by horrifying pain. It was so great that they passed out, forgetting how it all happened.

Beautiful sapphire eyes fluttered open by the sound of chirping forest birds and cool, gentle mountain breeze, taking the warmth away. She felt her body unusually stiff, due to laying on the ground. All was a blur for a while but soon enough her vision cleared and exposed to her a serene forest surrounding. Fia was still rather inadequate, at the moment wondering what she was doing lying on the ground. It was then that she realized that her hands were holding in a death-grip the arms of two people. She gently loosened her grip and gently arose in a sitting position. The blond girl's first reaction was to release her hair from her pony tails in an attempt to warm herself. She looked around and saw MJ and L-chan lying by her side. At first, she was jealous about them still having their cloaks on. It was a rather cold morning, she reasoned spitefully.

That was the moment in which the 17-year-old ninja wanna-be finally caught on to what was going on and in her fright screamed on the top of her lungs. Needless to say, she had some pair of lungs. Fia was at an immense state of panic and chaos ensued as MJ and L-chan were swiftly awoken by horrid screams.

"Calm down, you screeching banshee!" MJ glowered and smacked the girl behind the head, efficiently quieting the chaotic blond. "Where are we?"

That question was in all three girls' heads. Rose started looking around, trying to find something familiar in their surrounding, but, alas, in vain.

First, they noticed it was early morning and it was quite chilly. Their last memories were of their skit which was performed at noon. On top of that, the mornings at the Con were rather warm even if it was late April and it was expected that at least few of the mornings would be cooler, but the sheer air in the forest region was different – both in scent and humidity. After all, the Con was in Las Vegas. The air in their current location smelled of rain: it was cool and very damp, it smelled of pine trees and something else that was slightly sweet and familiar, but they couldn't put their finger on it.

Their was a mountain range that was alien to them both by peaks and shapes. And Rose had been all around the world. The flora was different as well. It strangely reminded Fia of the Triassic period, as it contained pine trees, ginkgo, ferns, and that sort of exotic flora.

**"Where the hell are we!?"**


	3. Sabaku no Charlie

Chapter 3: Boom Boom Pow

Tifa woke up. She felt extremely thirsty and the sun was blinding. She tried to adjust to the light…and that heat! When she was finally able to look around she found herself lying in the middle of a desert underneath a palm tree. She was in a small oasis. It was like a nightmare… was she back in Iraq? The sand was similar. Something beside her moved. She looked around and to her surprise she saw a 14 year old girl with severe sun burn. The reddish hair suggested only one person- Charlie.

Despite the circumstances Tifa did the one thing she knew was the most important to do- wake up Charlie. Judging by the severity of the usually pale girl's sunburn and by her own thirst she was sure they might've been here for about a few hours.

A person in such a predicament would wonder how they got there. Tiffany, however, was a Senior Corporal of the French Foreign Legion and right now the most important thing was not to find out how the hell she got there but to save Charlotte's life.

"Char…"Tifa coughed. Her throat was so dry! She looked about for water and saw a small water source that seemed to be pouring fresh cold water. It might have come from an underwater mountain source.

She went over to it and slowly, despite her thirst, drank. She then, now refreshed, pulled Charlie over to it and poured some water on her heavily burnt face.

"Charlie! Wake up!"

The girl coughed weakly and opened her light green eyes. She seemed slightly delirious which greatly worried Tifa. She seemed to recognize her, though as she mouthed her name.

"Yeah, it's me. Now drink… and save your strength, honey."

Slowly and in small sips she offered water to the apparently sun-striken 14 year old. Some of the girl's vigor returned and she was able to drink water on her own. In the mean time the Senior Corporal looked yet again about to see if there was anything of use in this small oasis. The palm trees weren't ordinary palm trees – they were date-palm trees. And they bore lots of fruits. And fruits meant energy, precious calories, and vitamin C.

There were also dry wood and grass. She could use them to some degree, she guessed. And then she saw a few sacks sprawled not too far away. She recognized 2 of them. She went with them to Iraq. She hadn't used them since she came back. One sack had her uniform and other necessities. The other bag however…it contained weapons.

The other two bags probably belonged to Charlie. One was sac with necessities, the other – her violin. It was down right weird but Tifa wasn't about to question this. Not right now. Their survival was more important.

Tifa brought back the sacks to the now fully conscious Charlotte. She seemed very confused about her surroundings and she clapped a few times to capture Tifa's attention. She used the sign language to ask about their current situation.

"I'm sorry Charlie, but I don't know, either." The Senior Corporal answered solemnly. "And I don't think this is some practical joke seeing as you were in New York and I was in LA with Rose, Fia, MJ and Hatorri."

Charlie frowned deep in thought. Why were they there? Who brought them there? Where were they? Why couldn't she remember being moved at all?

"Don't worry Charlie. I'll do everything I can to keep you safe, you know that." Tifa gave her a reassuring smile. "Besides, didn't you always say how much you admire the desert? Now is your chance to learn how to live in it."

Charlotte smiled a bit. One of the things people learned in the French Foreign Legion was high morale.

"You know? I'll get you something to eat. Those dates look good enough to eat." The white-haired woman said with a smile. She used one hand to hide her eyes from the sun and looked up at the dates.

She then sighed and effortlessly climbed one of the trees. Tifa did so effortlessly, but extremely carefully. The palm- bark was jagged like knives. One wrong move and she could go down covered in deep cuts. Once she got up there she ever so tenderly adjusted herself on the palm tree. She took out a knife she always carried with herself and cut down a few branches with dates. They fell on the ground where Charlie collected them. Going up was easier than going down. It took her 10 minutes of tedious descent.

It was getting dark. And cold. It was time to make some fire to keep warm. Fire was always good- kept away wild animals. Tomorrow morning Tifa would figure out what to do. Staying here was a no. The first thing she would do was to get all the dates and figure a way to carry enough water for them. She didn't even know where they were which was even worse.

Tifa made a fire place and gave Charlie the jacket of her old military uniform. She seemed cold. She was 14 year old girl after all. She would try and make some kind of containers from the dry grass and wood. The Senior Corporal rummaged through her old stuff and found a flask with alcohol. People would throw the alcohol, currently whiskey, away to use it for water but Tifa knew better. What if they get wounded? The alcohol could save them from infections. In any case, the morrow was always wiser than the eve.

To the surprise of both of them, one of the objects they found in the sacs was Charlie's father's old violin- the only thing that had managed to remain unscratched from the car crash. At first Charlie's eyes watered. It was still in perfect condition. Then she took it out and performed a tune on it. It was the first time she ever used it. And she was just as good as him if not better than him in playing it.

It was a rather good end for that day and 2 hours later the both of them were cuddled close to the fire place, trying to keep warm and comfortable. The night, just like the day was starry. The stars were so bright one would think they were within an arm's reach.

888

The morning was cold and unpleasant for both of them. The wind had picked up and with it came the strange smell of the sea. The sun had yet to rise but Tifa was good enough in surviving in such wilds to determine East and West and, in consequence, North and South. These winds were strong and the possibility of a sand storm was great. It was very strange for Tifa. She had been to Iraq and many other places with such a climate around the world but…the sand was so similar to what was in Iraq… the winds were blowing in the wrong direction. The Persian Gulf must be the other way around. In any case the two of them had to remain here for now and prepare for a possible sand storm.

Not too far away from there a rather large village in the middle of the desert was also preparing itself for the wrath of the desert wind demons. But among them only a single individual seemed unphazed by the upcoming sand storm. He was a boy with aqua green eyes, blood red hair, and a tattooed "Ai" kanji above his left eye. His name was Sabaku no Gaara.

"Ok, Charlie, take this knife and cut as many grass stems as you can. I will teach you how to knit it. I'll gather some more dates from the trees. We don't want them to be blown away, now do we?"

Charlotte took the knife and nodded. Some half an hour later Tifa was showing Charlie how to make different containers from the grass. In some two hours they had made a make-shift shelter from the wind and hopefully a Sand storm and were now preparing their equipment for a possibly very long and tiring journey through the desert.

Tifa had tried to look about up on the pal trees but all she could see was sand dunes. She hoped that they would be able to find signs of civilization or life at all about here- the desert was merciless to those who were not prepared. Most of the dates were not ripe enough to be delicious and they had a very bitter taste. Luckily, if the weather allowed, they would hunt something down soon enough. The desert was always a barren place, but even it was abundant of life, if one knew how to find it, of course.

Everything was ready when the sand storm hit. It struck as sudden as the strike of viper. Tifa had been through several such storms, but never something as severe as this. Lucky that she had decided to make their shelter extra strong. They also had a good supply of food and water with them and they would survive through it eventually.

The sand storm lasted through the day. It was by nighttime that the vicious howls of the wind subdued. The makeshift shelter was buried beneath a sand dune, meter and a half above them. Once they managed to dig themselves out, Tifa decided it was a good enough time to start moving. The night seemed pleasant enough, if a bit chilly, to move about. The dunes were shifted by the sand storm and she was sure that she could make out the weak light of something in the distance. That would be their destination.


	4. Rain paranoia and village people

Chapter 4: Listen to the Rain

Tall trees and thick mists… and lots of rain. It had been raining almost non-stop and the three of them were soaking wet. Apart from MJ, the two other girls were on the verge of giving up. Fia being the worst. It was funny really, since she was their appointed guide. Among the three of them, only she knew how to get by in such conditions. She even had a walking stick. At first they had thought this was some practical joke but after the end of the second day moods rapidly changed.

Fia kept insisting they were in Rain Country but the other two girls knew well both her paranoia and her otakuness well enough to take her words and bullshit. Still with every minute passed they began to actually process whether what Fia was saying was true or not.

There weren't such thick woods anywhere on Earth. Fia knew that much. And the flora didn't match anything they've ever seen. These woods were so thick. And these humongous trees! Those branches seemed thick enough to carry not one but many ninja.

Strangely enough they had found their stuff lying close to their location. Among other things was Fia's so called supercomputer, The Bible. That thing was like a plane's black box. It could survive almost anything. It had to. Fia metaphorically kept her soul in it. The rain however made it nearly impossible for her to use it.

Being the pampered girls they were, even good ole' gluttonous lazy tomboyish Fiffie-kins, constant rain did wonders for their skin… but ruined their hair. As things were, they looked like wet rats. On a more humorous note, L-chan had taken off her fake piercings due to Fia's warning about her being a living grounding device. And, out of fear for dear life, she took them off, indeed.

One of the more useful things they found in their own possession was Fia's creepy collection of Swiss Army Knifes, flint, MJ's weapon pouches, and, thank god, tampons.

According to Fia, the forest was full with critters they could kill and eat. And, indeed, after setting out several traps made of strings, they were where the reader would find them- happily eating squirrels.

The now dried up blond girl (whose hair was now severely curly) was munching happily on a warthog's hind leg, cooked, of course. The two other girls had long finished eating. Despite all, with Fia everything was always about food, laziness, Madara, Kakashi, Pein (All of 'em) or the universal use of Deidara's smutty hand mouths… the list of things was long but it was either food, games or anime and manga.

"So what are we going to do? We can't live like cavewomen for the rest of our lives." Started Rose.

"*munch* we could try and climb a tall tree and poke about….when it stops raining…"

"Fia, you mean IF it stops raining."

"That *munch* I do, Jessica-kun."

"We really need to find civilized life, people." L-chan sighed.

"If there is any, I believe they would find us by our tracks. And we live in a modern world…since the three of you still think we're on Earth, and then finding home should be easy. We're probably somewhere near Canada."

"It doesn't rain like this in Canada."

"Yes, it does."

"Fia…."

"Day after tomorrow."

MJ facepalmed herself. This wasn't getting anywhere,

"Fiona."

"Don't put me under stress! I can't think under stress!" The blond yelled defensively.

"Both of you shut up and listen! I think I heard some voices."

For the past two days the three of them had gotten rather paranoid. If they were indeed in the world of Naruto, then that meant they had to deal with medieval things like lack of transport, rogue ninja, bandits, dirt roads…. And the worst of all things imaginable…..8-bit computers.

There was the possibility of being captured by some really wacky criminals, getting raped, sold to slavery, killed and THEN raped…. Eaten… things kept running through Fia's head since she was the most paranoid of the three.

They were in a rather dry cave, compared to the rainy wilderness outside. They had lit up a very small fire to warm and dry themselves. Those voices were of a group of men. They couldn't quite capture what they were saying and they might be criminals so they kept it quiet to hear what they were saying.

They seemed to far away and did not come any closer. The rain had a positive side as well. If these people were truly criminals then they couldn't find them. The rain had probably completely washed away their tracks and they had stumbled upon the cave by chance when Fia tripped on a root (yet again) and fell through some bushes and into this opening that turned out to be a cave.

Fia was known for being a chance hazard anyways.

"Should we check it out?" whispered Madam Leader.

"I vote for MJ."

"You wouldn't pick it any other way. Dobe."

"Of course. Teme."

"No fighting."

"Sorry."

The black-haired girl swiftly and silently went outside in search of the voices they had heard.


	5. Sir Leader! Meet Madam Leader!

Chapter 5: CandyMan

"Report" said a man hidden in the shadows.

"We found 3 women. All three of them in the age span 15-25 years of age. The first one we found was black-haired. 178 cm tall weighs 55 kg, blood type B+. Eye color crystal blue. Skin complexion- pale pink. Does not seem local."

The man nodded, telling the shinobi to continue.

"The second one was 185 cm tall, red hair, peachy pale skin complexion, slightly tanned by the sun. She seemed to… possess eyes like yours, sir."

The Rinnengan eyes of the man in the shadows widened considerably. Was it possible there was another one like him?

"What of the third person." He asked impatiently.

"She was the feistiest of the three. She…uh… knocked out one of us by accident…with a roasted hog's leg."

The leader slightly raised an eyebrow.

"Only the black haired woman caused us the greatest problems in capturing her. She seems to be well trained in some weird foreign form of martial arts. The other two did not exhibit any such skill..."

"Continue."

"The third one is blond. Sapphire blue eyes, naturally tanned skin, 175 cm tall, 65 kg in weight. Does not seem fit in any way in physical training but exhibited exceptionally quick wit."

"Anything else?"

"We found several bags with their belongings. So far most concerning was a strange rectangular black box with a strange writing in gold on it. We are still working on opening it but, alas, no luck so far. Whoever built it had all kinds of disasters in mind, sir."

"You may go." The shadowed man said, after a considerable pause." Tell your men to keep them in as healthy condition as possible. I will have them interrogated when they wake up."

The ninja bowed down in respect and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Pein, for that was his name, exhaled deeply. This was an unexpected turn of events. At least he got the mystery of the possibly spying ninja solved. But still, who were these women? They were obviously no Kunoichi material. He rummaged through the file the Jounin had left. He opened up the page where the info of the red-haired woman was. He could see a photo they had made of her while unconscious. She seemed peaceful. He noted that she was very feminine, despite her slightly pronounced lower jaw.

Her hair seemed like his own. He looked at the items his ninja had found with them. Akatsuki cloaks? This was getting even weirder. He would have to have them interrogated as soon as possible. Usually interrogation involved great deal of torture but something within him told him to take a bit different approach. There was something very off here.

888

Two sapphire blue eyes opened slowly, revealing the dark ceiling of a gray room. The blond girl raised herself in a sitting position and stretched herself lazily and grudgingly. Her back felt like hell. Someone sure made sure to buy the cheapest beds possible… what a cheap bastard…

Fia grumbled in displeasure and sleepily gazed about. Her eyes suddenly snapped wide open. She remembered being in a cave… and then those murderers slash rapists came and then they fought a bit and she remembered hitting something with the hind leg of a roasted hog…

They were captured!!! And being the sensible 17 year blond, she did the most expected thing for her to do- scream bloody murder.

And while still screaming she got out of the shitty stiff bed that made her back stiff and started banging on the metal prison-like door.

"Get me outta here!!" she yelled in Japanese vigorously. "I haven't done anything to deserve this! I want a lawyer and some sushi! And Noodles! And sake!!!!"

The door abruptly opened and she fell on her butt on the ground. She whimpered in pain and small tears appeared at the corner of her eyes. She saw a pair of ninja sandals and she looked up to see an intimidating looking ninja that went with the pair of ninja sandals. She gulped audibly.

"Shut up." He ordered and closed the door.

"And don't forget the sake!" she yelled fiercely in an attempt to regain some of courage.

He opened the door again and pointed a kunai at her threateningly.

"Don't make me repeat myself, brat."

"Meanie!" she sniffed. And cuddled her knees closer to her chest.

The ninja rolled his eyes and closed the door again.

In another part of the same dungeon two crystal blue eyes opened. The first thing that came to the sleepy girl's eyes was how loud Fia could be. The blonde had the lungs of an opera singer…and the voice to back them up.

Then the black-haired girl processed the fact she was kidnapped. Unlike Fia, she did not move. They might be watching her. Slowly, she closed her eyes and pretended she was asleep again. She could wait for an opening. She was patient. Despite her worry for Fia and Rose, she knew that right now she couldn't do anything. Timing was her only hope for escape right now. She heard footsteps closing in on her cell and she held her breath. The steps stopped right in front of her cell. After a while the steps went away.

She had time to meditate upon what had happened. Those were ninjas. No matter how she looked at it…they were screwed. Even if she managed to escape somehow, they would surely capture her again. At least she had a moderate idea where they were: Rain Country. After all those ninja she fought had Rain Hitai-ate's and combined with the rainy weather and the woods…it was quite obvious. She might be wrong but she doubted that.

There was the other problem with L-chan's Rinnengan lens. They were hard to remove but not that hard…what if it was real? She had no idea. She hoped Rose was ok. And she also hoped she would wake up tomorrow morning with some weird headache, back in Tifa's house.

888

Rose woke up to find matching Rinnengan eyes at a nose's length from her face. She jumped with a start but she felt someone hold her by the shoulders.

"Who are you?" the man's voice was strict, demanding respect.

She finally recognized him. It was Pein. The one she cosplayed. Her heart skipped a beat and she gasped at him. He had all of the piercings and his Rinnengan…

"Who are you?" he repeated as if there was something really urgent. He seemed desperate to know.

She was in a bit of a stupor. Was it possible…could it really be?

"ANSWER ME!" the grip on her shoulders tightened and got her out of her shock induced stupor.

"R-rose. Romano Rose." She answered following the Japanese way of saying names.

He seemed satisfied as his grip loosened but he still stared at her. She found herself staring at him as well. His eyes were so unreal. Suddenly he moved away, breaking the weird spell cast upon them. He walked about. Pein seemed so anxious. She couldn't blame him. She felt her own emotions so confused- she didn't know whether to laugh or to hug him happily and many other things.

They were in the Narutoverse! Now she needed to know WHEN exactly they were.

At the other side of the room Pein was in no better shape. Were they spies ? Where did they find Akatsuki cloaks? And why did she even look like him? Why did she possess the Rinnengan? And what about the other two girls? He was sure he heard one of them scream and then yell obnoxiously.

WHAT was going on? And should he tell Madara? It wasn't that important…yet…

This chappie is dedicated to my readers! Especially Mt749 : Enjoy


	6. Getting Started

Chapter 6: Angels

Takeshiro was your average Rain ANBU Captain. He had a wife and two kids and he worked in the security department… of sorts. His job was to understand new enemy technology and weapons. And right now, in front of him, was his greatest enigma- a rectangular black box with a strange writing in gold on top of it. What was so important to be locked up like that? He had spent 3 days trying to tinker with every nook or cranny, with every single bolt or small opening he found. Nothing. He started using more aggressive methods. Banging didn't work. He even used several powerful jutsus but ended up heating the most outer layers of the object and it burning a hole through the wooden table.

At day 5 he was still as desperate to know what was inside. And so were his superiors. There was a rumor that their God had even called back one of his best to try and decipher this enigmatic and most peculiar object.

If Akasuna no Sasori wasn't able to open it, then only the owner was… and she wasn't cooperational when it came to the black box. Takeshiro had only found out the name of the box and the meaning of the writing on top of it- The Bible.

As any good ninja, he was sure that whatever was inside, was more precious than gold. At least he wanted to know the material used to make something so resilient to… well, so far everything.

It was raining. Again. And it was starting to get on her nerves. In the course of one week she hadn't been visited by anyone but some guy with creepy looking ANBU with a tiger mask. He turned out to be quite ok in her opinion. Not that he chatted about general stuff with her. She just got that vibe. He was very polite and diplomatic and even during interrogation he made sure not to scare her.

As far as she understood from his questions, he was tinkering with her Bible. At first she was extremely irritated. She hated when people even TOUCHED it without her permission. She had spent about 10.5 million euro to turn her dad's old lap top into the ultra super awesome supercomputer it was today. How she got those funds was a less than noble secret involving her hacking skills and her incredible genius and the black market from which she got the plutonium battery. The only people who knew how awesome her Bible was were the inner circle of the AFC and even they knew little of the vast info stored in its memory.

Now, the black box weighed around 10 kg, given that the plutonium and 10TB of space just answered to the laws of Gravity. Due to the fact she always brought it with her people tended not to notice it… not at first that is. But the Bible was not just space, plutonium and the Full edition of Britannica Encyclopedia- it also contained several military secrets, including schematics of various weapons like A-bombs, guns and that sort of things. And, of course, everything about the AFC. And if Fia hadn't been as paranoid as she was then the Narutoverse would've been in big trouble.

It was Wednesday by her calculations… and by her digital "super-tinkered" spy watch as she sometimes proudly dubbed it. In the course of one week, Fia had managed to find an unhealthy interest in counting the seconds. Her usually contained insanity, paranoia and ability to annoy people were at its fullest. She wanted to RAMBLE. To talk about anything and with anyone. And Takeshiro was going to come soon to interrogate her. Oh the joy.

The door of her cell opened. It was Takeshiro. Their way to the interrogation room was silent. But it was just the calm before the storm. Poor Takeshiro did not know that he had a chance hazard time bomb on his hands, ready to explode about anything she thought about.

As soon as they entered the Interrogation room it started.

"This room is too gray. Gray is bad for karma and karma is always a bitch."

Takeshiro did not react.

"Creamy pale colors would do it better justice… and a painting would be nice as well. Possibly a Van Gogh replica. The one with the sun flowers. Do you like flowers? They're nice. I like all kinds of flowers but I hate gardens. They're too troublesome to take care of. So I buy flowers in pots when I get the chance. Do flowers grow nicely here? It's very rainy and cold but I think at least something has to persevere through this climate. Maybe small Alpine type of flowers? Anyways, the food is horrible in the dungeons and I want better food with better quality and quantity. Do you eat that kind of food every day? I don't think so. And WHERE is my sake? I've been trying to get some for the past week and I believe it is about time for someone to bring me some.

Do you know where I can get some tampons? I think MJ's period is going to come in a few days. And she is a horrible PMSer. You know? There was this one time when we were going to this convention and she was PMSing. Seriously creepy and murderous…"

And the rant went on. Poor Takeshiro could not react nor make her stop. But he did learn that the black haired girl's period was exactly 14 days, 17 hours and 28 minutes, she was an artist, and that the blond kid had won some amount of money by fighting something called a saltwater crocodile in some "Kaka Do?" park.

The rant ended some one and a half hour later. And the interrogation started. As always, Takeshiro found it hard to make her stop looking around absent-mindedly and listen to him and he found it even harder to make her answer in some way he could understand. She would always add a looong comment about his appearance or about her captivity or complain about the more then good conditions in the cell rooms. And when he actually did get answers to his liking, they would always confuse him even more. For example:

"Are you a ninja and what is your ninja village?"

"I'm a ninja-wanna-be and I don't have a ninja village! I live in the City of Love!"

Needless to say, stress levels were high in such days for poor Takeshiro-taichou.

In another part of this peculiar building, a certain black-haired girl was practicing yoga. At least she appreciated how good the conditions were and did not complain. When interrogated, she answered calmly, with short sentences. Her answers were also slightly vague but in a very subtle way, making her interrogator highly doubt that they were just some normal group of girls. She also seemed very disciplined both physically and mentally, which made the ANBU tingle with unease. They did not seem to express any ninja training but here they were, fondling with ANBU interrogators who had strict orders NOT to do them any harm. It was almost impossible to get any information out of them. Said nameless ANBU felt very sorry for her ANBU Captain, Takeshiro-taichou, who had to deal with the crazy blond bimbo in the other part of this "dungeon" as she put it. She even noticed a few gray hairs on Takeshiro's otherwise raven black hair.

MJ stretched one last time before standing up. She looked out the window and looked about the town that vaguely reminded her of the movie Metropolis with its tall metal-covered buildings. She knew where they were. They were in Amegakure no Sato. So, Fia turned out to be right after all. Jessica found it extremely hard to believe it that they were truly in the Narutoverse. But with every single day that belief seemed to fortify itself ever more stably.

Even though the girl looked calm, on the inside she was terrified. They were in Akatsuki territory and they did not know WHEN they were. What if they were after Jinchuuriki? What if they had no chakra? What if they HAD chakra but it was alien to the one here? What was going to become of them? And what of Hatorri and Tifa? Unlike them, Hatorri was a boy and MJ was sure he was an exact copy of Sasuke or at least very Uchiha-looking. She feared for his life the most.

Unlike them, Rose was not in a cell. She was in her own apartment. And she spent her time chatting with Pein. He was acting rather childishly in her opinion, but who can blame him? He thought he was the only One, but now there were two like him- himself…and her. And she wasn't herself either. The poor L-chan was confused as well. At first it was just excitement. Now they were still examining each other and she felt it was getting old. Especially when they mirrored each other's movements. It was weird and creepy. They even drank coffee/tea with the same movements and expressions. But what really intrigued her was that she did not look like Yahiko… the Pein she cosplayed. She looked like Nagato, as Konan, in their brief meeting, had commented. She said they were almost like twins…speaking of Konan. She looked like Malena. But her skin was a bit more pale. She lived in rainy Rain. And Malena lived in sunny Spain. Oh joy, it rhymes. Hence the difference in skin tones. But they looked exactly like each other. Except Konan was slightly thinner and fitter. And Malena had two children. Two very cute children. Hence wider pelvis.

For now, Rose was trying her best not to anger Pein in any way. He didn't speak anything about her two comrades. He only said that he had ordered no harm to come to them in any way. Rose sighed. She wanted to see them. It wasn't that she was really worried. Not at this point. MJ knew how to take care of herself. On the other hand Fia was …well… Fia- your friendly neighborhood chance hazard time bomb. Meaning that with her around and her antics, anything could happen, ranging from broken china to intergalactic mega wars. The last being influenced by Fia's phobia of celestial objects.

On the other hand, she felt like she had won a special prize from a really awesome contest- spending the week with her idol. She could even bet he displayed his false leadership like she did- with style and steel. Pein entered the room she was in. Currently Madam Leader was reading a history book, albeit heavily occupied with thoughts concerning her fellow Otaku's.

"Rose."

"Yes, Leader-sama?"

"I have decided to let you and your two comrades stay and live with us. In exchange you will help me with my pursuit of world peace."

***Flashback***

**Amegakure, three days earlier**

The Yahiko Pein was circling about a standing Rose. She was trying to be as calm as possible. What was going on? Why wasn't he ordering their deaths? She wanted to be in Tifa's house real badly right now, Rose realized, along with MJ and Fia.

"How old are you? Where do you come from? I want to know everything. And do not lie to me. I will know if you try to deceive me and you and especially your friends will suffer the consequences."

"As you know, I am Romano Rose. Leader of a non-political organization- The AFC. I am 25 years old. I've recently finished Harvard and now I am a lawyer alongside my father and mother. They're both lawyers and I am a fifth generation lawyer." Rose paused. Should she tell him where she was from? Where the three of them were from? She was anxious about it mainly because it was not everyday news someone told you they came from an entirely new planet.

"Do continue."

"I do not know if you know where exactly I come from." She started vaguely. Maybe she could tell him where they came from WITHOUT telling him where they came from.

Pein narrowed his eyes. He disliked empty words.

"I am from New York. And MJ is from London. Fia comes from Paris." She almost added 'the City of Love' but stopped herself. It was an inner joke they had in the organization. Saying things like that in a dramatic fashion.

"I have never heard of these places. Where are they? They're obviously not part of the Elemental Continent."

"Then we really far away from home…" Rose added quietly for good measure." As I told you earlier, Leader-sama, we just woke up in the middle of no where…I do not know how we got here."

"I will believe you for now. I think you understand I have the upper hand here, Rose-san. Do not tempt me change my hospitality towards you and your…comrades."

And with that the interrogation continued. She felt lucky for being a lawyer. She handled most of his question easily. For once she was glad she followed the steppes of her family, as she wanted to become a veterinarian. Something that her father greatly looked down upon.

"You said you were the leader of an organization. What is this AFC? And what exactly does your organization do?"

"We're not ninja. But generally we do performances, raise money for charity…that kind of thing. We're quite popular if I dare add."

"I see. So there is no reason for me to try and gather more information for this…AFC."

"None at all, sir."

"Very well. And by performances, what exactly do you mean? We did find you with Akatsuki cloaks and you DO resemble us." They even had the rings right, he thought but did not add.

"To be honest I have no explanation for that."

"You are lying."

Rose gulped. He was good.

"I do have a theory but it is too far-fetched to be believable. Is that a better way of putting it?"

"Don't play smart with me. I am patient but not foolishly so."

"Listen… sir… I am not trying to play smart with you or anything. At least you know where you are and I am as much in the dark as you are. I have two girls to worry about that are under 18 years of age and on top of that I have no idea how we got here. I am trying to be as helpful as I can, especially regarding the fact that I am not a ninja and neither are my friends."

"And what is that theory you have?"

"That we have been kidnapped and left at the spot we woke up…that's seriously the best explanation I have."

"If you come from so far away that even I do not know where that place is…then how come you possess the Rinnengan and look so much like me? The Rinnengan is of the Elemental country."

"It might be a recurring gene."

"Explain."

"We inherit genes from our parents. And they- from their parents. By means of genetics and biology in general it is easy to conclude that at some point in the past an ancestor of ours must've traveled to my home town or location. Migrations are normal biological occurrences."

Pein narrowed his eyes. It was plausible but something was nudging him, telling him that she was lying. And still, he decided to believe her for now. She was no ninja and therefore, she was not a threat for him or Madara. He had decided a few days ago that he would not tell the dangerous Uchiha about the girls. They were not as grand a discovery as he had first thought. Oh, how wrong he was.

***End of Flashback***

Madam Leader looked at him with disbelief. It was too easy. Then again she still did not know his terms.

"As strange as it would seem, under normal circumstances you wouldn't have been able to be trained for ninja. But it seems that your chakra systems are not fully developed. They're the same as a newborn's. That means that not only will you learn new jutsu with ease, but you will also quickly adjust to the life of a ninja."

"So you want us to become ninja?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean, Leader-sama?"

"The fact you have the chakra systems of newborns is disturbing. And it might go along well with your theory about being kidnapped. I also believe that you may have been experimented on."

"I doubt that, sir."

"How so?" Pein raised his eyebrows.

"Fia suffers severe paranoia. Had we been part of anything of the sort, she would've been the first to yell about it."

"I…see. Still it is very irregular. To continue my previous stream of thought. I do not want you to become ninja, but to train you as such. I believe that you are trustworthy enough to be spies on my account."

"Spies?"

"Yes, Rose-san, spies. I want you to help me find certain individuals. Since you start your training so late in your life, no one would know you. You will not receive ninja status but you will be trained as such. I hope you understand."

Spies? That sounded …well… very conspiracy-like. Did he want them to track down Jinchuuriki? That was going to be easy since they knew WHO the Jinchuuriki were.

"I understand, Leader-sama. Still I do not know if we are the best choice for such a delicate job."

"You will become the best choice."


	7. Style,Steel and Sex Appeal

Chapter 7: Grace

The door to her cell slowly opened. Azure eyes blinked open at the sudden brush of cold air from outside her cell. Fia woke up in the position she had fallen asleep last night- in the fetal position, deeply in thought, thinking of ways to escape.

It was, as usual, the masked ANBU that always took her away for interrogations. 'He has my Bible' was the first conscious thing she came up with at the sight of him. For a bit more of a week she got used to her new surroundings. She was now fully and utterly convinced this was Narutoverse. And it wasn't Wonderland. And her "OMG were in Narutoverse"-high was over. She felt groggy, and had a bit of a headache. Frankly speaking, she was completely emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted. She needed MJ. And L-chan. And a big healthy bar of black chocolate.

"Get up." The ANBU (Takeshiro) ordered calmly. She followed silently. Unknown to her, he was taking her to Pein's office where MJ and L-chan were already there.

The walk to the office was awfully silent as Takeshiro mentally noted. Despite himself he preferred the cheerfully annoying bimbo to this slightly disturbing emotional void. Her usually bright azure eyes were now dull with emotional exhaustion. The young blond girl next to him was slightly fidgeting with the hem of her obnoxiously orange jacket. She seemed sad. And it was not her expression but the chakra flares she had. And yesterday he was nearly to the point of committing seppuku from her constant jabbering. He never believed it possible to actually see a person suffer an emotional exhaustion the way this "Fia" did. He had seen people suffer like this before… but this was ridiculous. How can anyone be exhausted from being HAPPY all the time? And she always seemed to find something to amuse herself despite everything. Was this some kind of a trick? Was she really slightly insane as the rumor was going? Or was she Bipolar or something like that. He had no idea but it was disturbing him, an ANBU Captain. He didn't know her that well to make any guess that would be remotely accurate.

And yet again, despite all his training, he turned to look at her, to see any signs for her sudden change in behavior. Did she snap or something? She had no reason to. After all, her two comrades and she had the royal treatment any hostage would ever want to have. And she did not seem the type to snap so easily. She seemed, despite her childish, obnoxious behavior, to be a person of extremely strong will in times of need.

Funnily enough, this girl had become his second greatest enigma, the first being The Bible.

The two of them finally arrived at Pein's office, not that she knew. Something however nagged at him that she actually suspected their final destination's location. As any proper ninja, he ignored that little voice.

Takeshiro knocked twice and a calm, steely voice told them to enter.

LINELINELINELINELINELINE (too lazy to twink it anymore… it became annoying)

Her ANBU had taken her to some kind of office. The young woman with the ANBU mask was as calm and as ninja-ish as MJ ever imagined herself to be in her most wildest and filled with awesomeness dreams, not that she would ever confess having such in the first place, being the proud and slightly snobbish aristocratic introvert that she was. Since this time the route they had taken was different, MJ guessed that this ANBU woman was taking her to someone of at least some status of leadership. She however did not expect to be taken to no other that the pseudo-leader of Akatsuki, Pein. She nearly squealed at Yahiko's sexy sight but withheld the Fia-induced outburst and instead gasped and then gaped in shock. She was then nearly killed by Rose's breasty hug. When she came to a few seconds later, she returned the hug.

"L-chan!" she had exclaimed happily, albeit quietly, as she was not a loud, but a calm and collected person. It was almost like a family reunion.

Pein remained unfazed by all of this and allowed them a few seconds to see each other before he took up their attention. He was being professional after all.

"Are you alright? Did they interrogate you as well? Have you seen Fia?"

"I'm fine, and yes… and no, but I know that Fia is alright. Leader-sama gave his word not a hair to fall from you. You should be very grateful to him. It isn't everyday that he shows such mercy to strangers like us…especially to strangers like us who might be potential enemies to Ame."

L-chan spoke rather strangely. She never showed such submission and MJ knew they were in deep shit, as she was sure that they were. Jessica allowed herself a glance at Pein's godlike self. It was definitely Yahiko, all right. She knew those orange spikes too well. And the sexy piercings. He was wearing the Trademark Akatsuki cloak, he had the ring too… same as L-chan's. And, despite herself, she gloated at the fact that their own cloaks were MUCH better quality that his own. He probably slightly seethed at that fact himself. Back to reality.

"We should sit down and wait for Fia… I don't think standing like this is very polite." Rose mumbled with a shy, slightly embarrassed smile on her face. She was really good; MJ had to hand it to her. But was she good enough to fool Pein? It wasn't the proper time nor place to think about it. She had to look timid as well. Of all the places in the Naruto-world… to have fallen practically in Akatsuki HQ… and in Cosplay as well… she hated Karma sometimes… but she was sure this wasn't her fault. She ate her veggies, she was kind to animals, she was polite and nice to old people, she even won a couple of World Championship Cups…and she wasn't a pervert. This was definitely Fia's fault. Every Birthday wish, every shooting star wish, every 11:11 wish… every freakin' wish she had ever made for the past 7 years (with a few minor exceptions) was about going here, meeting their favorite characters (for Fia, read Madara and Pein), marrying them off and bearing their off-spring (Read Fia again) or restoring the Uchiha Clan (read MJ *coughItachi-fancough*), or meeting Hatake Kakashi (read Rose).

The two of them sat down on two of the three chairs that were placed before Pein's desk. There were 5 minutes of silence. It wasn't that awkward for a silence but it was still a bit uncomfortable. After all no one would feel comfortable under Pein's freaky Rinnengan gaze…or L-chan's for that matter. MJ finally noticed that her Rinnengan was a slightly darker tone that Pein's. It was the same as her eye-color. How intriguing, she thought.

Someone knocked on the door. And Pein was just getting comfortable on that awesome leather chair of his, MJ had noticed. He didn't seem phased at all. But the black-haired kunoichi-wanna-be was certain he really loved that wonderful chair…and that he felt slightly annoyed at the fact he had to stop being comfortable for a while. Pein's and MJ's gazes met for a millisecond but before she could react…

"Enter." was his steely monotone. It demanded respect and awe. What a surprise, MJ thought sarcastically, he did have a god complex after all… or did he really? She wanted to find out. For all the trouble they had for being in the Akatsuki, the REAL Akatsuki HQ, MJ knew that getting to know the members was probably going to be her goal here, along with saving Itachi, of course. Then again there was the thought of how long they were going to stay here… things started to get ever more complicated for the 16 year old Itachi Cosplayer. She feared the butterfly effect.

The door opened and in came an unknown ANBU along with a very pale, sullen and emotionally voidful Fia. MJ's and L-chan's attention was snapped from the silence towards the newcomer. For Pein, the reaction of the girls towards their fellow girl, Fia, was rather disturbing. In fact, they even seemed rather embarrassed to see her. How weird. He had the feeling something unexpected would happen. And it did.

As Fia entered the office, a few things ran through her mind. First, she needed to find the guy who installed the door. That was some really good door. Second, she noticed MJ and L-chan. Third Takeshiro nodded a goodbye to her and started to leave- she was overjoyed that she made an ANBU give a reaction to her. Third- she saw Pein. Fourth- she had no strength to react in any way. Fifth- the only reasonable thing to do was to… well, feint.

The only signal anyone got was the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks. With a quiet "Wow!" of a sigh she dropped on the ground out cold. She just couldn't handle the awesomeness of all 5 said things at the same time. It was something she did not do often, but also something that was fully expected of her by those who knew her for more then 5 years like MJ and L-chan. It was pretty simple, really. If a fangirl, given the same circumstances, ends up seeing her friends she worried so much over, then gets a cool nod for goodbye from a hunky tall ANBU and then sees her most beloved character in the entire universe…well you get the idea… said fangirl would feint as well.

Over the years Fia had feinted by means of awesomeness three times before. The first time was when she discovered the amazing properties of Yaoi during Yaoi-con when two extremely sexy bishies made out during a skit. A.k.a. Pein and Madara Cosplayers. True, the one cosplaying Madara WAS a female but that was irrelevant. The relevant part was that Fia was an ultimate Pein and Madara Otaku. And she also got a major nosebleed. She woke up several hours later after that. But not after being taken to the E.R.

The second time she feinted due to extreme awesomeness was when she "accidentally" ended up in the Men's baths during a soccer game. Right after the match. When all the men were butt naked. And smexy. But it was an isolated case of pervyness that she did not repeat. Not at least to the knowledge of MJ or other AFC members. She still proclaimed being a disciple of Jiraya from time to time when they were playing the latest edition of Narutimate Accel at her house. Luckily her parents had no idea who Jiraya was.

The last time she feinted by awesomeness was a year ago during MJ's B-day pool party at her Family's mansion. She had seen MJ's dad in his swimsuit. Actually she had feinted twice in a roll then, because she had woken up to see MJ's dad looming above her, bare-chested. Naturally her eyes rolled back and she had a major nosebleed which made him and his wife freak out (they're doctors). One of the more disturbing facts that MJ knew about Fia was that she liked older men. Around the age of her dad. And the age of "Hiashi" and "Hizashi" the two Japanese twins they stumbled several years back during a trek on the French Alps. They were recruited to the AFC but that's another story.

And to complete this little bit of feinting by awesomeness info, and to explain exactly what happened:

Fia's eyes connected with Pein's Rinnengan. In Fiffie PoV things went like this…

Knew you'd be here tonight

So I put my best dress on

Boy I was so right…

Those 5 seconds of eye contact went extremely slow. He was the most beautiful and fearsome man she had ever seen in her life. Reddish, fiery hair… something that was supposed to be close to the natural version of his Manga Orange spiky hair… his bangs were slightly covering his amazing eyes…

Our eyes connected

Now nothing's how it used to be

No second guesses…

Azure and Rinnengan lingered on each other…

Track in on this feeling

Pull focus close up you and me

Nobody's leaving…

Her heart sped up. She could feel her throat tightening, she could feel butterflies… no, Gnovibrators more like it, in her stomach.

Got me affected

Spun me 180 degrees

It's so electric…

She eyed what she could see of him discreetly. He was so ghastly pale, Yahiko, that is. But that made him even more magnetic to her. The blonde felt how heat was spreading all over her. And she could see him naked with her Inner eye. In her mind there was no one in the office but the two of them. She saw him slowly stripping. She was also slowly stripping…

Slow down and dance with me

Yeah, slow

Skip a beat and move with my body

Yeah, slow

Come on and dance with me

Yeah, slow

Skip a beat and move with my body

Yeah, slow

Don't wanna rush it

Let the rhythm pull you in

It's here so touch it…

And a millisecond later her mind did an overload…

Knew you'd be here tonight

So I put my best dress on

Boy I was so right

Our eyes connected

Now nothing's how it used to be

No second guesses

Track in on this feeling

Pull focus close up you and me

Nobody's leaving

Got me affected

Spun me 180 degrees

It's so electric

Slow down and dance with me

Yeah, slow

Skip a beat and move with my body

Yeah, slow

Come on and dance with me

Yeah, slow

Skip a beat and move with my body

Yeah, slow

Don't wanna rush it

Let the rhythm pull you in

It's here so touch it

You know what I'm saying

And I haven't said a thing

Keep the record playing…

Slow down and dance with me

Yeah, slow

Skip a beat and move with my body

Yeah, slow

Come on and dance with me

Yeah, slow

Skip a beat and move with my body

Yeah, slow…

Yeah… MJ thought, she knew her best friend too well. She was probably still humping the poor man. At least she hadn't nosebled. THAT would've been disastrous. So much for trying to follow the rules- Don't feint, don't explode (fangirl'splosion), don't nosebleed. At least she tried…

She could almost feel the muffled sound of "Slow" by Kylie Minogue. She shook her head to rid of the weird thought.

To cut a long story short, Fia feinted, L-chan pretended everything was normal, but there was a small popped vein on her left temple, and MJ was facepalming, too embarrassed and irritated to let the world, a.k.a. Pein, see her face.

And Pein merely turned to L-chan with the cold semi-glare of "Explain, please." Oh joy. Well, here it goes.

"She is sensitive."

"I…see."

Awkward.

After five minutes she was still there lying on the cold ebony floor. Pein decided it was needless to wait and so he started to sort of explain things to them.

"As you might guess, I have spoken with your…leader… and the two of us reached an agreement."

MJ listened intently as his attention was towards her in this case. She was almost certain that there was no agreement but something of the sort "Agree or die". They were in a Ninja world now. A world she had practically studied and theorized about.

"The three of you shall train to become my spies and work for me." He stated simply.

That was too good to be true. Then again training never meant they were going to go by this easy… especially Fia… She used to be extremely athletic until her stupidity brought her to a hospital bed and she had recuperated for nearly two years up to this day. She still had feint tooth marks from where that salt croc had bitten her… She nearly shuddered… Fia wasn't even allowed to jog as the rest at her school as her ribs were yet to fully heal.

"Forgive me for interrupting, Leader-sama."

Pein glared at Rose.

"But I hadn't the chance to tell you earlier that one of us is not of prime condition to…"

"I know that your blond friend is not physically fit but that would be …"

"She suffered an accident a few years back and she is still recovering."

This time he even added some Killer Intent.

"My medic nin will look it up."

Like that would solve anything, MJ mentally groaned. Fia was a living, breathing Human-sloth girl. The only time she would do anything physical was usually hyper induced.

"I have set up to give you apartments in which the three of you will leave. They are small but are next to each other and are close to my headquarters. I hope you appreciate what I am doing for you." Voice of steely killer intent. Scary.

"We do, Leader-sama, we are very grateful." Rose nodded her head.

"Dismissed."

MJ picked up Fia, seeing his complete disinterested towards her and by the time the two girls even thought about heading out of the office, the two ANBU that had been interrogating MJ and Fia entered and escorted them out of the building.

As they reached their new home for the time being, MJ was slightly panting, and obviously irritated. Not only did the ANBU not help her by carrying Fia, who was, by the way, 65 kilo's of dead weight and boobs, but they also walked faster than them, causing the red head and her to jog from time to time to catch up. She hadn't asked for help. She was too proud. But she already disliked them. Her only hope was that the apartments would be at least decent…

LINELINELINELINELINE

AAAAAAAAAAND another chappie is done! Check out Obilith's Never stay tuned or look up Google for Gnovibrator… Fia is a gamer after all. And Because I have such awesome readers,I would let them choose what I should write next about :D


	8. Narutopedia

A/N: Now, after this chapter their missions and training start. Apart from several certain events that are to happen, including a most interesting Horror Arc, I would like a few ideas from my dear reviews about what do you want them to do : Like whom should they train with and such, mission ideas…ninja fights and so on. So please review and Ill give you a cookey for your thoughts!

Chapter 8: Million Miles From Home (Acoustic)

Seventh floor of a 10-story building. Their apartments were on the same floor and technically they had the entire floor to themselves. True to his word, Pein indeed had given them three small apartments in a block not too far away. It looked in a better shape than most, they even dared think luxurious. It was when they had reached the seventh floor (via elevator, duh) when the two ANBU had left them. The three of them had yet to get their belongings and Rose regretted not having asked for them. MJ seemed fairly irritated but the sight of their now new home made her feel better. She left Fia against a wall with an "Oomph!" sound. Her back ached horribly, not to mention the shoulder on which she carried Fia.

Rose tried the key to the closest door and opened it up. It was interesting to see a fairly light, simple setting. The walls were in creamy white pastel for a color. There were no pictures but a few would have been perfect for the hall. There was a living room, a bedroom, separate toilet and bathroom and a nice looking kitchen with new appliances.

The living room and the kitchen were separated by a tall arch. The living room consisted in what seemed to be two parts- dining part and "living room part". The dining part consisted of a table with six chairs, and the living room part was made up from a sofa, a coffee table and a TV, much to their relief. The entirety of the setting was typically Japanese in style but modern, as they observed the appliances. The TV wasn't anything special; it was a large normal big TV with a big screen. Fia would probably twink with whatever is technologic in her room once she woke up, MJ mused. Speaking of the blonde, she was brought in and placed in the bedroom.

And in the bedroom the bed was double sized. With nice white sheaths that were scented of fresh laundry. Ah, how MJ loved that smell. And she knew that Fia did as well. It was one of the most comfortable things for them, to wake up to the smell of spring flowers, fresh mountain breeze or the refreshing scent of the ocean. It was a homey smell that the two of them came to adore after traveling so much around the world in the pursuit of Anime Conventions. Strange, though, how this place already felt like home. The black haired girl felt a pang of sadness hit her. She missed home. And she missed her parents. She missed Hatorri and his interesting, witty remarks. She even missed Leopold, a.k.a. Light. She missed the Earth.

There were going to be several hours before her blond friend was to wake up. In that time they could get accustomed to their new home. It was kind of stupid to give them three apartments, but maybe it was for the best. Still, knowing the background of the country they were in, made her feel uncomfortable with all the luxury they were provided with. Maybe Pein was trying to fool them into false sense of security. Whatever the reason they had to keep their guard up and, to some extent, play the part of the clueless damsels.

The black haired girl went over to L-chan who was in the living room, watching TV. The TV channels were not many. Just 10 channels, including a sports channel, as her red haired companion was now watching something similar to "Kunoichi of the year".

"What's that?" MJ asked, tilting her head to the side. It had been some time since she had last watched TV. And this seemed very interesting. It was Ninja TV after all.

"Some idiot is trying to pass these booby traps." L-chan answered, referring to the busty looking short bimbo with dark brown hair and green eyes.

The said woman slipped badly and the crowd went "Ooooh!" at her painful fall.

"Wow." L-chan started sarcastically." A booby trap that actually captures boobies."

"Wisdom of Optimus Prime. It's like the January Sun. It's bright but cold." Added MJ.

They continued watching TV for several hours during which several ninja came and gave them part of their stuff, some provisions and money to buy new clothes tomorrow. It was late afternoon when Fia finally woke up. And she woke up by the smell of overcooked onigiri.

"There's too much salt in the rice!" she yelled from the bedroom in irritation. She hadn't completely woken up yet. She was awake, true, but not completely comprehending of her surroundings. She could only register that L-chan had tried to cook something. Were they that desperate to eat? She had to fix something for …dinner? When did it get so dark? She looked about in confusion. It was a new environment…hmmm…. The smell of fresh laundry…. She deeply inhaled the scent of the bed covers and then stood up. She felt sleepy and still groggy but the scent of home lingered about her. She felt happy and comfortable.

Fia stood up and stretched in every possible direction, possibly cracking every single joint in her body.

"Ah…that felt good" she murmured in mid-stretch.

As soon as she felt ready to walk, she headed out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen.

"Yo." She said lazily, Kakashi style." Where are we?" She asked, secretly hoping and yet afraid of the answer. What if they were back home and this was all a weird, long dream?

There was this one time she thought there were transformers but after a month of it turned out to be this major gag with her paranoia. Was funny as hell though. And she couldn't keep grudges anyways, so she laughed her ass off… eh, those were the pioneer days of Cosplay.

"Oh, this is one of the apartments that Pein-sama gave us." MJ answered. She was sitting on top of the kitchen shelves.

"Wha?" There was something weird, Fia noted. Now she was fully aware. It was good to know at this point that they were speaking in English. MJ NEVER referred to Pein as "sama". The blonde then remembered everything that happened. And her eyes widened…and watered.

"Oh, hell no." MJ simply inserted two fingers in her ears. And just in time too as Fia started wailing uncontrollably.

"Whyyyyyyyyy!" she wept. And wept. And occasionally sniffed and wiped away tears and other liquids of bodily origins from her face.

Rose had enough and inserted the wooden spoon she was using to steer the rise in her mouth. Luckily, it wasn't that hot but shut her up.

"Fia, don't worry. You'll get to see him plenty of times. He wants to train us as his spies! We will be ninja! It's ok! Don't cry…though you did give him a VERY bad first impression" The red head lawyer added the last part in a barely audible fashion.

Fia stopped wailing, spoon still in mouth, and perked up at the words spies, ninja, and generally "He wants"… Selective listening ability anyone?

"Weawy?" she said, wooden spoon still in mouth.

MJ got off the counters and plopped the spoon out with a popping wet sound out of her mouth.

"Yeah! Really." Phew, disaster alluded, she thought. And then she looked at the wooden spoon apprehensively and cautiously placed it in the sink. Yew… spit…. The black-haired girl shuddered.

"OMG! Yay!" the hyper and obviously bipolar blonde started jumping up and down, happily squealing at the prospect of being ninja. Then she suddenly stopped.

"Does he know that we're from a different dimension?" she asked.

"Oh no. Are you crazy? That would change everything." Said MJ

"Then why did he make us ninja? There is something off about it."

Despite being awfully childish, Fia was respected. That was because of her unmatched intellect and amazing insight. There were many things that Fia was, one of them being smarter than Shikamaru by light years. And she was strange like that.

"Oh, will you enlighten us? You're standing like a statue for five minutes now." MJ exclaimed in irritation.

"Sorry." Fia started." It's just this- Pein does not know who we are. And he just made us spies out of the blue."

"He said he finds us trustworthy." Said Rose.

"Not that we aren't and not that we never wanted anything like this… but have you thought about the possibility that he might have some off-the-record mastermind plan going on?"

"I hate to say this, but for once your conspiracy spoiled fermented brain is actually right about a conspiracy."

Fia glared pointedly at MJ.

"So, what do you suggest, Fia? You and Tifa are the only ones who can actually be helpful in something like this." Rose's voice sounded slightly strained. She was worried. Who wouldn't be, really?

"First, we need to make a list with the pro's and cons of all of this."

MJ rolled her eyes.

"We're not that stupid Fia."

"That way we won't forget anything. For example, I want you to tell me what happened with any of you. We need a list of the questions, and I need to make up plausible theories of whatever they might want with us. I also have to figure out WHEN exactly are we…."

"Let's find some paper." Suggested MJ, ignoring Fia's unending rambles. Rose nodded and the two of them left.

Naturally, forgetting the rice on the stove.

A few moments later a loud, irritated yell was heard. They were going to clean up the burnt rice, Fia thought. She simply took out some ingredients and started preparing something for dinner.

Cooking was a very interesting thing. And it was one of the things with which Fia physically excelled at. MJ sucked at cooking and L-chan knew how to stir scrambled eggs well enough to not poison herself.

After surviving the self-induced accident two years ago, she had spent a lot of time home. And as soon as she was able to get out of bed, she had to find something to amuse herself. And she did, actually.

She didn't remember what made her wrestle the 12 meter long saltwater crocodile. But she knew it wasn't the 10 000 dollars the man had offered on a joke. It was one of those things that she would never ever repeat… due to the stupidity of it all.

Anyway, during her stay in the hospital she had her entire right side bandaged up. Apart from the jaw-like scars, she had her right arm and leg broken in several places and a few cracked and 3 broken ribs. She was lucky to have recovered so well. And it was partially because of MJ's dad's amazing skills. He was a plastic surgeon, and one of the best at that. And in these two years of recovery she had gained a lot of weight which she was still trying to lose. Not that she complained about it. She occasionally went to plastic surgery to remove even more scars. She had, however, insisted to keep some of the bite marks from the croc on the front side of her body…

Fia, to explain, did a lot of stupid things. And got away with it, either because of her amazing brain power, or because of her amazing luck. And it was her amazing luck that had saved her from the croc. She had only clean wounds, so to speak, saving her from having to endure horrible scars and lack of bits of flesh on some places.

And why was this relevant? That accident was the main reason why she was not a rabid fangirl anymore. It was because of it that she had to be home-tutored for a year and it was also the reason for her amazing cooking skills and her love for survival skills. She used to be an in-doors person. Now, she loved the wilderness.

From the whole ordeal, Fia had gained two very important skills. One was her cooking, which helped her battle with a possible depression and the other skill was…well, darts.

Well, it did start out with darts. Being the violent and hyper person, sitting wrapped up was something horrible for her. And, out of pity, her parents had brought her a Darts board. They could've brought her The Bible, she had bitterly thought then, but she just couldn't risk it. She still remembered how right before she passed out from pain and blood loss she had pulled MJ to herself with her good, left, arm and had whispered to hide The Bible. It was her most precious possession.

As said earlier, it had started with darts. And she was the hospital's all-time champ after just a week of 24/7 practicing. Before the Accident, as she called it, she ate 5 pounds of sugar worth of candy and food in general. And she either slept for days, or did not sleep at all. She was also a rapid fangirl. Of the worst, and most obsessive kind. Generally she was what MJ now referred to as her dark side, her gamer/rapid fangirl side. She was slightly evil and scary. And you don't mess with a genius like that.

But people do change and she was a proof for that. Maybe. And so, the darts skill later turned into Everything pointy and sharp type of skill, especially when it came to kitchen knives.

Back to reality. Fia used her time cooking to muse over the potential risk of them being spies. She hoped they would be good at it but right now she knew nearly nothing about the whole situation and she needed to literally interrogate MJ and L-chan about it. It was almost like a sort of puzzle which she needed to set. And she needed a pen and some paper… or a notebook…

**LINELINELINELINELINELINE**

During dinner Fia kept asking them questions. What was Pein like? What kind of questions did he and the ANBU asked MJ and L-chan. That sort of thing. After half an hour MJ had enough.

"Fia, can we at least eat in peace?" she asked trough gritted teeth.

"Jess, let her be. You know its our best bet." Rose sighed. It was for the best, she guessed.

Everything was neatly written down in a notebook they had found in one of the drawers. By 12 o'clock she had almost everything she needed to start her work, a.k.a. theorizing.

By that time MJ and L-chan were long asleep in the double bed in the bedroom.

It is now a perfect time to add that they were constantly watched over by Takeshiro's ANBU team. And Fia's activities were extremely interesting for them.

The blond had started off with their location. She had found a civilian's map of the village that would be put to use by her. She wished she had her Bible with her. It would have been easier to look up the data she had on Amegakure and Ame in general but her photographic memory would just have to do the trick. She knew everything there could be known about anything concerning the Narutoverse.

And so, she began digesting the data she had at this point. She could practically see in front of her eyes the info she had on Amegakure for Narutopedia.

'_Amegakure (__雨隠れの里__, Amegakure; Literally meaning "Village Hidden in Rain"), also known as Hidden Rain Village, is a small yet highly industrialized hidden village located in an unnamed country. It seems to be a rather loosely knit village, befitting the destabilized country, as a fair number of its ninja seem to either be missing-nin or end up as missing-nin, as the infamous Akatsuki leader Nagato and his partner Konan originate from this village. Its symbol is composed of four parallel vertical lines, resembling rain.'_

Indeed, Amegakure had this slightly post-apocalyptic look to it, especially with the bad weather and the grey, metal-covered buildings. She sighed.

'_Lacking a Kage leader, Amegakure was once led by Hanzo, though he was killed during the village's civil war by the Akatsuki leader, Nagato. Nagato then used the village as his base of operations for Akatsuki and reigned as an enigmatic godlike figure over the townspeople. Shinobi loyal to Nagato wore an Amegakure headband with a horizontal slash through the middle, similar to that of Nagato. Those loyal to the former Amegakure attack the village on occasion in an attempt to assassinate Nagato, though their efforts are never successful._

_Due to its geographic location, Amegakure has served as the battlefield for the various ninja wars, the Second Great Shinobi World War being especially damaging. This has led to a heavily isolationist policy for the village, with its leaders rarely being seen in public. Due to all this, the people of Amegakure are very cautious and Amegakure itself has adopted a strict policy of security. Even immigrants are searched and are required to submit their information and are kept under surveillance 24/7. This policy holds even when Amegakure hosts the Chunin Exams._

_After the death of Nagato, Konan swore Amegakure's allegiance to Naruto Uzumaki, indicating that she has taken the place of village leader.'_

As far as she could understand at this point, the 'ANBU' they had seen were one of Pein's ninja. And that meant their Hitai-ate's were scratched like his. Kinda self-explanatory. Fia puffed in annoyance. At least she was sure they were under surveillance all the time. And why did Pein let them stay despite the tight security? She felt very uneasy with the thought of his supposed secret grand master plan.

And what of Pein's personal (figuratively speaking, since he has…what? 10 bodies?) interrogation of L-chan? Since he is so egotheistical, she could understand his reaction to L-chan's appearance. Maybe, if they played their cards right, they could convert him to the good side earlier than in Shippuuden? The blonde snorted at the idea. Like they were that Mary Sue to make him supposedly fall in love with all of them and then miraculously they defeat Madara's sexy phantom self and Naruto is proclaimed Sekai Kage out of the blue. Ah, dreams.

And still, there actually was a chance of that happening. No, not the whole of it- just making Nagato a good guy earlier. After all, you are a god among insects and you believe… no, you THINK you know you are the One, and suddenly three chicks appear out of no where and one of you has your powers. There goes the God Complex. Maybe that was why he allowed them to stay and actually train them for spies/ninja.

And that thing about having the chakra system of a new born? She had practically laughed out loud (lol'ed) like a mad scientist slash evil nemesis type of villain a.k.a. Master of all EVIL. I mean, think of the possibilities… all those jutsus she knew on theory… all those jutsus she would create… and then she remembered she had to play dumb. Eh, karma was a bitch slap on the boobs sometimes. Nasty, ne?

Still, the thing that worried her most was why they look like, well, their Cosplay. If L-chan had Rinnengan, that meant that MJ was an artificial Uchiha and she was either Kyuubi or Naruto WITH the Kyuubi. And she needed to find out what exactly she was…

And this, my friends is the reason why AFC always say "Don't cross Cos." In a case such as this Fia had hundred of things to ponder about. To name just a few:

If she was Kyuubi, then why wasn't she in Naruto's belly? Was it possible to be OUTSIDE his belly? Did she have nine tails of supreme awesomeness? Where were the nine tails? And if she was 'Naruto' then did that mean that they shared the same Kyuubi? Did they have a separate Kyuubi? What if there were now TWO Kyuubi Jinchuutiki's and one of them was under Akatsuki's nose?

It was near dawn when she came up with the most brilliant idea for the entire ordeal. They would go shopping and then they would visit Pein.

Usually, she would hate shopping, but this was going to be ninja shopping. Thinking about it, she decided that they should visit Pein first and ask him about what they should buy. Not that they didn't know but they had to play their part, right?

It was 6 am and Fia stretched tiredly. She needed some sleep. The blonde stood up from her chair and just as she was, in an oversized Orange cotton T-shirt, she snuggled in between MJ and L-chan on the bed and fell asleep immediately. Today was going to be an interesting day.


	9. Alicia Keyes

A/N, ok so this is the chapter in which I introduce Sasori and Deidara to the world of my Fanfic. Sort of. This chapter is going to contain a special bit of humor around Sasori and Deidara's relationship as partners in Akatsuki. Anyways, on with the chappie :D

Chapter 9: Rudebox, Listen to the Radio

The day had started earlier than MJ wanted it to start, especially when a clumsy blonde makes attempts to squeeze in between her and L-chan. It was a rather tight fit with Rose's already plentiful breast space and adding up another busty person was a bit too much, she guessed. That little distraction was not what had woken her up however. When her best friend had rustled herself in, she had merely woken up MJ for a few seconds. The black-haired girl's sleepiness took over and she was asleep again for a few more hours. It was the fact that she really wanted to pee that woke her up. As soon as she woke up she headed to the bathroom. And her two comrades used her absence to spread themselves accordingly to the newfound empty space on the bed.

MJ had had many sleepovers similar to what was going on now and that didn't surprise her. She merely sighed sadly. She could've done with more sleep. Jessica turned her way to the living room and turned on the TV. Who knew ninja had one of those morning type of news shows? Anyway, MJ was watching quietly the TV. It was kinda interesting to her because ninja TV included the latest dangerous additions in the bingo book. It was funny how the reporter, obviously a civilian, knew absolutely nothing about anything more than the currently commented ninja was a dangerous person.

It wasn't that hard to grasp the fact that in this world normal people knew nothing of the secret deadly arts of the ninja. But it was still pretty funny how normal people were practically in the Dark Age, save for electricity and sophisticated toilets. MJ was kind of surprised that Amegakure had TVs. Thinking about it later, though she finally came to the conclusion that maybe it wasn't as extraordinary as she first thought it would be.

"Heh, horoscopes…pfft." She rolled her eyes when they started rolling away the daily horoscope. Funny thing how the western and eastern cultures were mixed. It was like home… more like what home was like during Anime Conventions… it was kind of strange to just look out the window and actually see people dressed in traditional Japanese clothing and random ninja walking about. It was truly a dream come true, she realized. It was something that she had always wanted, albeit so secretly.

Now, if there was only a certain Uchiha heir that would hold her in his arms… A dark smirk appeared on her gentle face and her eyes glinted in a mischievous manner. Oh how she longed to have Uchiha Itachi in her grasp. And how she long for his strong muscular arms to hold her and…

"Ohayo, MJ!" somebody yelled right in her ear. In a very cheerful fashion. So much for calm and quiet in the morning.

"Morning, Fia." MJ greeted grumpily. At least she was going to have some breakfast. It was around 10:30 am and being up at 9 am had left her feeling slightly hungry. And she dared not to cook… she sucked at it.

***Flashback, unknown date***

"MJ, could you break some eggs for me?" Asked your favourite blonde while energetically stirring something in a pot on the stove.

"Sure." The said girl went out of Fia's line of sight. She had exited the kitchen but soon enough returned with a hammer, without Fia noticing, the latter being easy due to the blonde being extremely occupied. As the young blond teen hustled over her spaghetti, the black-haired girl carefully lined up several eggs in a roll. They were perfectly straight, the sharper side 90 degrees of angle to the counter's surface. Never had anyone seen such thing…for obvious reasons.

'WHAM WHAM WHAM! CHING! WHAM! THUCK!'

"MJ, the hey?" Fia had not yet started to swear at that point of time. Still, she was obviously deeply psychologically disturbed. How could something like this happen? Why did it have to be her perfect counter? What kind of a mindfuck does this to eggs!? Was it not humane enough to gently tap them with the blunt of a kitchen knife? Or even break them the old fashion way, by tapping them a few times on the counter surface. Her stark azure eyes were wide, like a deer caught in the headlight, staring accusingly and yet sorrowfully at the hammer wielding, confused-looking, black-haired girl by the name of Michael Jessica Keats.

The poor girl had no idea why Fia had whacked her so hard (the THUCK sound) with the metal spoon, after dropping it on the floor first (the CHING sound). There was a single pitiful strand of spaghetti on top of her head, loosely hanging in front of her left eye.

***End of Flashback***

"I feel like pancakes." MJ finally concluded after 10 minutes of contemplating what she wanted to eat. She had had it with Asian food for now. After all, a girl who had taken courses to perfect her cooking skills should not be put to waste.

L-chan also nodded her head. She wanted pancakes as well. Fia, however, wanted something more stable, like beef. Fia overused her cooking skills. Sure, she was known to eat everything in infinite quantities, but she also had an extremely fast metabolism, allowing her to be only slightly plushy and not a big fat cow. The preps at her school still called her that. Regardless, Light a.k.a. Leopold went on dinner with Fia and not with them, and he was the hottest boy in their school. Yes, when concerning Anime and Manga, they were the greatest nemesises one could find. But it was like in football and the football hooligans who supported different teams.

In real life the two of them were close friends and sat next to each other in school. There was even a rumor they had been secretly an item at some point. MJ found it strange, Fia and Leo's relationship that is. They were so close that if she didn't knew better she would've thought they were together in a romantic way. Even if they didn't know or denied it, there was an amazing chemistry between them. And still Leo was openly flirting with L-chan.

The two of them were so like each other. Maybe that was why they could not become an official item, Fia and Leo. Fia was loud and cheerful, and he was calm and collected. Apart from that they were the same. Maybe that connection was something like what Naruto and Sasuke had. One of eternal friendship and eternal rivalry. Something like Magneto and Xavier from X-men. It might be more then that though, because they were a boy and a girl.

They were so tender with each other. Leo, when not in Cosplay was so gentle and warm with Fia. It was not possible for them to be just friends. And asking Fia was not an option, because she didn't know either. It was one of those enigmas that would forever gnaw at her, MJ had long ago realized.

Still, Leo lusted all over L-chan and he did so openly. He was such a husky, sneaky bastard sometimes. Despite all that L-chan said, and denied, she found his infatuation with her very hot. But he was too little for her. Only 17.

"Fia, why cant you settle for just pancakes for once?"

"Because I'm hungry. And a growing girl to boot."

Even in a different dimension some things never changed.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINE**

Akasuna no Sasori was a man of short temper and also a man who hated Tardiness. And right now he hated Deidara's humanly mortal needs, especially the need to take a dump. They were what? One day away from Amegakure and Deidara just had to eat that last bit of the funky-smelling onigiri which he had in one of his pockets with questionable hygiene. Now both of them were suffering the consequences. AH how Sasori hated waiting or procrastinating in general.

He was so tempted to stab Deidara with Hiruko's tail. He thought against it when he heard another one of Deidara's painful moans. Sasori smirked a bit. His blonde friend got what he deserved.

"Serves you right, brat."

"Don't be so mean, Sasori-Danna, un." His blonde companion answered sternly.

Deidara was crouching behind a bush for over 45 minutes, suffering from what Sasori believed to be diarrhea. Being a puppet meant that he didn't have to end up in such a situation. And being an Akatsuki meant one had to be smart enough to AVOID such a humiliating situation. The brat was still young and despite being an extraordinary ninja, in fact good enough to join Akatsuki, he also had a lot to learn. Like not to eat spoiled food.

Finally, after what seemed forever to Sasori, Deidara emerged from the bushes, buttoning his pants. He took his Akatsuki cloak from atop of Hiruko and put it on. People don't take dumps with their cloaks/ coats/ robes/ etc on.

"Deidara, this has been our fifth stop for today. If you have to go one more time I swear I'll turn you into art eternal, weather you like it or not."

"My art will be better than yours, Danna, because true art is a bang, un." Deidara exclaimed indignantly, not having anything else to say to contradict Sasori.

Sasori did not reply and merely continued forward. He was ignoring his blond brat of a partner. Deidara, known for having a short temper, gritted his teeth.

"Ne, Danna! Wait up, un!" he yelled as he ran to catch up to him.

Several hours and three more stops later, Sasori knew that they were already late. And that alone made him spiffier than usual. Oh joy for poor Deidara. Actually he would've killed the blond but he seemed rather pale and not well at all. Even the lips of his hand-mouths seemed dry. At least he had enough heart not to bother Deidara further about it. Sasori gave credit to the kid for at least trying to take it like a man, but what person could take dumping like the way poor Deidara did like a man?

Being a puppet really had its perks.

"Brat. We had to be at Leader-sama's office an hour ago. You know how I hate it when I wait or somebody waits for me."

"Its not my fault the stupid onigiri was funky, un!"

"Actually it was."

"And what do you want me to do about it? Make a clay bird and fly us over, Danna, un!?" Deidara was also getting angry.

Sasori abruptly stopped. How hadn't they thought about it earlier? Making flying clay birds to transport them swiftly. It was a perfect idea. Not that he was going to tell the brat that. He would never live it down.

"Is there something, Danna, un?" Deidara asked, looking about suspiciously, trying to find any danger.

"Actually, Deidara." Sasori started. Hiruko's head turned towards Deidara and they shared a glance, Scorpion tail swishing idly. "There is."

Sasori had really thought that Deidara would get the hint. No, really. He was almost 100 percent sure he was. Deidara was just standing there waiting. After five minutes of silence, the blond could hear Sasori's exasperated sigh.

"Make a Clay Bird, brat." The puppet master hinted. Wrong move.

Deidara's eyes widened. Was it possible? Had the infamous Aka Suna no Sasori finally administered his art?

"I knew you would see it my way, un." He said happily. In a tone that actually disturbed Sasori. What was wrong with that kid? He just didn't get it. And neither did Deidara. But it had been only a year of being partners. They had a long way to go when it came to synchronizing how their team worked.

"Deidara?"

"Yeah, un?"

"You're an idiot."

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**

The rain had finally stopped and the three girls were ready to go outside and do some shopping. To their greatest surprise Pein had sent them a ninja who was going to help them with choosing their training gear amongst other things. Fia, was, obviously, squealing in delight at the prospect of having a real ninja giving them a tour of Amegakure. She was like a child that was opening her Christmas presents. And they were everything she ever wanted on X-mass all at once.

MJ and L-chan were more calm about it, but even the stoic and introvert of a human being MJ was having hard time hiding her happy smile. Her cheeks were slightly rosy by the cold damp air of the after-rain. Her crystal blue eyes were glistening happily.

And L-chan? Well, she had let MJ fix her hair into something as unintimidating as possible. She also wore sunglasses, hiding her Rinnengan from the public. She was also occasionally giving wide grins to her two subordinates. This was going to be fun, and probably cheaper than what they had back at home. Custom made ninja weapons varied in cost and a basic kit of Kunai and Shuriken and Ninja strings was 2 thousand dollars.

She practically couldn't wait to buy REAL ninja clothing. None of them could, seriously.

And who was their guide? Takeshiro, of course.

"Ne, you seem to have caused quite the commotion. It's not everyday we find 3 young maidens such as yourself roaming the woods. You are lucky that nothing happened to you."

Of course, they did not know him. He seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He had a pitch black hair. His eyes were chocolate brown and his skin was pale, a few battle scars marring his naturally handsome face. He seemed to be growing a beard. It was still barely a stubble though.

He seemed so naturally friendly, as if you can tell him your darkest secrets and he would help you. He seemed so trustworthy…Fia tripped. She did that often so MJ and L-chan did not notice it.

_T-that's him!_ She thought,_ that's the ANBU who interrogated me!_

"My name is Takeshiro, by the way. My mission is to make you comfortable and take you around town, if you don't mind of course." He flashed them one of the sexiest friendly smiles they had ever seen.

L-chan and MJ giggled at his open flirtatiousness. Fia couldn't quite grasp it. MJ and L-chan giggling like school girls? No. _This has to be a Genjutsu!_

"Ne? Are you a ninja, Takeshiro-senpai?" that had to be the most "out of a hentai anime girlie innocent voice" Fia had ever done in her life. Her eyes were all sparkly, the pose was perfect too…

Takeshiro's face grew so red at the blonde's closeness. So kawaii! He laughed apprehensively and pulled away as quickly as he could.

"Why yes…" his voice was suddenly high pitched. He cleared his throat." Why, yes I am!"

"That is so… AWESOME!" she squealed happily and practically double-glomped MJ and L-chan with her strong arms. She hoped the entire ordeal was enough to get them out of the Genjutsu.

MJ blinked a few times, feeling her spine being rearranged. She also noticed the fact that Takeshiro wasn't as friendly looking as she first thought he was. He was still extremely sexy for your average ninja. But was no Uchiha Itachi to make her go fangirl on him.

They walked down the main street and chatted lightly. It was near noon when they had finally decided to sit down and grab some lunch on Takeshiro's expense. As they were entering the restaurant, both MJ and L-chan discreetly jabbed Fia a few times. They knew her too well and she wasn't bellow mooching off of people, especially when it came to free food. And, for their own sake, the redhead and the black haired girl gave her a few girl signs to be polite and not be her usual pig self.

Of course, Takeshiro noticed that. And he also noticed how disappointed the blonde seemed. What a strange bunch of girls. Still, after spending a whole night watching what they were doing he could guess they were trying to spare themselves from Fia's inappropriate behavior.

The four chose a table with a nice view to the street. No one never knew if they might see a passing Akatsuki, right? One of the things that any passer by first noticed about them was how cheerful they were. They also seemed very confident. They were outsiders, it was obvious. Were they ninja? They were so beautiful! Their clothes were strange and their dialect was weird as well. That was a ninja with them…

The three paid no attention to the stares of those around them. They were used to it, thanks to their Cosplay, of course. And this was nothing compared to the hungry stares of the fans. Really, they were fine. Fia was a bit too flamboyant and MJ swatted her now and then to make her stop grabbing everybody's attention. She was as annoying as she could be, but despite how irritating she could be, MJ wasn't really bothered by it. She was so used to it, she probably would start acting like her and be more talkative if she was not around for too long.

Finally, a waitress came and handed out menus. All of them opened them up and Fia knew for sure she was going to order Tobiko Sushi. She wanted her first real official meal to be Tobiko Sushi. You know, Tobiko Sushi, **Tobi**ko Sushi. Looked like a certain orange swirly masked candy man.

Fia smiled happily at the prospect of eating Tobiko sushi and opened up the menu. She was the epitome of happy in that moment. And then came reality check and her happiness broke like a glass window.

"Katakana." She said darkly, lowering her head, her azure sapphires not visible due to a dark shadow that was cast over them.

"Fi?"(Fi is short for Fia, sounded Kawaii!)

"Katakana" she repeated sorrowfully.

"Is anything wrong?" asked a fakely confused looking Takeshiro.

"Bloondie doesn't know Katakana." MJ snickered, while said girl was looming in her depressed emo corner.

"Nani? But she speaks it fluently."

"She learned it by herself. She can speak it but she doesn't read katakana… we need to get her a dictionary…" L-chan sighed.

"Don't worry, Fia. I'll pick food for you. I'll look for the largest meals, don't worry." The Uchiha-look-alike consoled the poor blonde.

For MJ and L-chan, it was extremely funny. She had claimed being an all-knowing genius. To this day, Fia knew French, English, Russian, German and Spanish fluently; she also knew Ancient Greek, Latin and could even read ancient Egyptian. And that was not counting the fictional languages she knew, mainly from the Warcraft fandom and the Lord of the Rings fandom. Yeah, she was a geek like that and having the awesome ultra IQ RAM to boot and all that memory space was perfect for her addictions. It was kind of scary to think she knew so much and she was only 17 years old. For God's sake, she dissected squirrels as a hobby!

Finally having ordered and getting over the embarrassment of not knowing how to read Katakana, Fia and the two other girls looked around. This restaurant was very modern, western looking in Fia's opinion. But what had truly gained her attention was the Karaoke set.

During the entire lunch she had ogled at it hungrily. How she wanted to just go up there and…

"There is a Karaoke stand every night. You can come if you like." Takeshiro had noticed her gaze. He was used to that gaze of wanting something. It was so extremely intent it almost spoke to him. She seemed to be a person who always expressed herself. If anything, he was never dull with these girls. They always seemed to be in good spirits and always made small jokes.

"Ne, Takeshiro-sempai, don't give her any ideas, her singing in the shower is enough." MJ said half-jokingly. No one liked to wake up to a booming, powerful, although enchanting voice, of lets say…Beyonce? In 5 am in the morning.

"Is she that bad? Were you not some type of performers?"

"I am an amazing singer. Its just that when I get up early, I get up really early." Fia smiled shyly. "Some people find it annoying to be woken up by loud noises in 5 am."

There was a pointed glare from MJ.

Soon after they were done with lunch and was now time for shopping. Fia, of course, was the most openly excided of the three and literally bounced off walls. Needless to say she pulled Takeshiro to go faster so they could look at everything. And she knew what she wanted. She wanted everything that screamed NINJA!

Despite his expectations for them to get unpractical clothes, the three of them, including Fia, had chosen rather ok for beginning ninja clothes. _Nothing out of the ordinary,_ he thought. It should be noted that like any other sane man, Takeshiro despised shopping. Right now he was waiting for them to get out of the changing rooms. Rustling and grumps were heard from Fia's boot. _She is such a clutz_, he had noticed, much to his irritation.

"MJ" she whined from her booth.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come over? My hair-clip got stuck somehow. Im tangled!"

"Give me a sec…where did I put my bra?" MJ mumbled the last part but Takeshiro had heard it. He seemed nearly on the verge to leave them like that and to go outside and take a few smokes. Yet he couldn't.

"Fia, those are my panties!" there was an indignant yelp.

"I'll wash them twice I…" _THWAK_

"There, fixed." Takeshiro noticed the black haired girl going out of the blonde's booth with a pair of black, red-laced thongs in one hand. She had an aura of smugness about her, but she was still somewhat poker-faced_. She would do best as ninja_, Takeshiro randomly mused.

Until the late afternoon the four of them were done shopping and now were heading back to that same restaurant. From spending an entire day with them he could only say one thing: Rose-san was a calm, content person with a very leveled character, save for occasional, but understandable moments of severe irritation. MJ was the most ninja-like of them and it was fairly obvious she did lots of training. And Fia… well… if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. The blond bimbo wasn't just a bouncing ball of energy. That…that THING was pure evil. He was sure of it now. Those otherwise innocently looking eyes were swallowing everything they looked at, examined it, accessed it. At first he thought it was just pure ungodly curiousity. But the way she looked at things. It was creepy and he was an ANBU Captain!

Either she was mental, which he was 90 percent sure of, or she was a very, VERY insightful and cunning. Apart from that she was being a big idiot, bouncing energetically off of walls and annoying the hell out everybody. MJ and Rose were used to it, he guessed. OK, so it was just his ninja instincts about this and gut feelings weren't always right. Conclusion- the girl was not just mental, she was completely and unterly unstable… and by the looks of the way she was now looking at MJ for some smart, witty remark she had made earlier, she was also incredibly violent.

The girls were not wearing their old clothes, but their new ones. They looked more local now, despite how they still were easily separated than the rest.

L-chan was still in a sporty, more ninja-ish fashion and so was MJ. Fia , on the other hand, was wearing traditional clothes, more specifically a black haori rimmed with orange. She had commented something about how Japanese traditional clothing owned, though he didn't get it.

What he did understand was that that girl adored everything of the traditional type. And she had wailed in front of a shop's screen at the sight of a most elaborate red and gold kimono with a phoenix motive on it.

It was an Uchikake. She had made a semi-dramatic vow that she would find a rich guy to marry only to wear that kimono. And then MJ had hit her in the back of the head, mumbling things like "You don't mean it." And "You gave us enough trouble with your spur of the moment wishes." Fia had gotten slightly red and uncomfortable about it and had muttered an apology. Takeshiro was sure there was something about it but when he had asked, Rose had only curtly said it was an inside joke.

He knew she was lying.

"I want the cook's special!" Fia announced, loud and proud.

They all ordered something and started chatting again. It was getting dark and Fia wondered if they could stay for the Karaoke night. She wanted to rock the house. And with MJ's mad guitar skills (which she had since L-chan made her for the sake of the fans) it was going to boom KAPOW!

The restaurant was swuiftly filled with what Fia believed to be regulars. Probably most of them being here to watch how people sucked at the Karaoke. That, or this was the best restaurant in town, as Takeshiro had told them.

It was finally time for the Karaoke. And Fia was first in line with a slightly displeased MJ being dragged by her.

After a few minor adjustments, and a permission by the owner of the restaurant to use one of the guitars, the two were ready on the stage.

Takeshiro actually watched them intently. They had said that were some type of performers.

"Aren't you going to join them?" he asked L-chan.

"I don't feel like it, and Fia is enough entertainment. But you'll see that soon enough." She gave him a knowing, evil smirk.

"Hi everybody!" she yelled in the mike at the quiet audience, a few perverted yells and whistles were heard here and there. "This is my first Karaoke night here, so I'm going to give my best, ok?"

Nobody answered. But the atmosphere was already entertaining. Just the way she was moving on stage made people smile. She did everything so cutely, for a lack of better words.

"Please give your round of applause to my best buddy in the world, Jessica-kun!"

MJ sighed tiredly and smiled half-heartedly at the public and waved. Several people laughed, and there were a few yells.

"Cammon, darlings! You don't want her to mess up her awesome skills, now do you?"

Then the applause started.

"That's it people! You own, you rule! You PWN!"

The applause got stronger, and the crowd started cheering at her.

"All right! That's what I was talking about!"

"This one is for all you awesome peeps and chicks out there! Hit it Jessie-kun!"

She started with a simple, slightly classically sounding tune which slowly became more complex, more deep and elaborate. People were silent while she was playing the guitar. It was one of their original songs that they sometimes played when they were in the Romano mansion with Hatorri and the rest. He was their second guitar.

It wasn't a rock song, but rather a slow love song. One that you could dance to.

"Moonlight, I was smiling at the moon tonight, baby. Where are you ?"

Fia started singing and indeed, she had an angelic voice.

"I wish I could see your face, smiling down at me like the white lady of the starry night sky.

Where are you?

I miss you babeh, don't you know that? I miss you, yet we've never ever met. I know you, but do you know me, baby… oh baby! Where are you?"

L-chan smiled. That was Fia's Cosplay theme song. She was singing about her favorite characters, namely Pein and Madara. It was a beautiful song and with MJ's mad guitar skills, it swiped away competition.

"Daylight, I see the dawn is coming and my heart is pounding in my chest, oh baby. Where are you?

And there you are, walking down the street. I wonder where you go, I cannot reach you, oh baby. How I wish I could be with you."

It was a strange new rhythm for the Japanese mindset around here. It was slightly similar to Spanish music, but slow and flirty in the skillful hands of MJ.

"I see you every day, every night and every morning you pass me by. I see you but do you know I love you. You are the world to me, oh baby."

The rhythm turned into a more heated, passionate one as Fia kept signing.

"Love is just a lie. A twirling emotion, a silent killer in the night and ruthless mistress in the day. Where are you, oh baby? I wish I could just meet you, even once, and then I will tell you how much I love you!

But will you see me? Can you even see yourself? Do you even know we are worlds apart? Do you even know we are meant to be yet not? Will you hear me out or will you leave me, blinded by your life?"

"Moonlight, I was smiling at the moon tonight, baby. Where are you?

Daylight, I see the dawn is coming and my heart is pounding in my chest, oh baby. Where are you?"

The public cheered. It was only natural for they truly had exceptional talent. Soon the song ended, the crowd wanted more. Fia bowed down and left to rest for a while, and MJ did several guitar solo's with a smirk on her face. She owned the crowd.

"You have an amazing voice, Fia-chan." Said Takeshiro, feeling quite entertained.

"You should see me dance!" she exclaimed rather loudly, adrenaline pumping hard in her veins.

She whistled loudly at MJ and she stopped playing, looking at Fia. When Fia was hyper, one would think she was intoxicated. And she was… it was a sort of a placebo effect, a Fia thing.

"Hit the Tango, Jessie-kun!" she yelled happily and then dragged L-chan to the middle of the restaurant.

L-chan laughed at her antics and decided to join in the fun. It was her that had thought her Tango anyways. And no body else knew it here so she let it slip. There were happy cheers, especially from the males. It was going to be an awesome Karaoke night, filled with the blissfully sexy sounds of a Spanish guitar solo. The three girls enjoyed themselves a lot. It was a sort of party for their coming in the Narutoverse and they let themselves loose for a while. After all, nobody was killed by a little music, right? And Sound ninja don't count because they sucked, at least that was what Fia thought.

It was amazing, in Takeshiro's eyes, how Fia, a single person that nobody here knew, was able to stir the entire restaurant and now they had some kind of an awesome party. After an hour MJ was still playing songs and now Fia was in enough party mood and she was occasionally giving a random squeal or scream here and there, obviously psyched up in dance mood. Heck, she had even pulled a few people and was now teaching them some kind of dance, a table cloth tied around her waste, forming some type of a dress, which, in reality, was supposed to resemble on of those awesome Spanish dresses the Spanish dancing girls wore.

Takeshiro was drinking his sake, watching the entertaining show before his eyes. He smirked under his nose. Even though they did not fit by any standards in this environment, they made the environment fit them. He knew a thing or two about Leader-sama's plans to train them as spies as he was going to be one of the people who were going to baby-sit them. They might do great as spies. And if they were any good in the ninja arts, they were going to be one of Pein's greatest weapons. Especially the black haired one. With a little adjustment she would fit in perfectly anywhere. If it wasn't for her crystal piercing blue eyes, she would've passed for a typical local onna, albeit a very beautiful one.

Of course, the commotion did not went unnoticed, as around that time two distinctly dark clad people were passing the restaurant.

Sasori and Deidara briefly stopped and looked at the restaurant. It was usual for Karaoke night to be loud but there was a rocking party in there and poor 15 1/2 year old Deidara really wanted to join them.

"Cant you go and report back for both of us, Sasori-Danna, un?" He asked pitifully.

Sasori also wanted to join the party, for he truly admired whoever was playing the guitar. That person possessed the skill of a true artist. But he also wanted to punish Deidara … well, for being his annoying self.

"No way in hell, brat. You made us late and you are coming with me. You are going to fix your own shitty mess." Sasori said in a highly irritated fashion. He had no idea how Deidara even had the nerve to ask him to finish the report alone. He would've let him, had they not been late. After all it was his giant clay bird that took them here. And Sasori had always secretly wanted to fly like a bird but that was irrelevant at the moment.

There was another cheerful howl coming from the restaurant. It was apparently the blond woman with the big breasts and the table cloth tied around her waste like a kilt, who was currently doing the Cancan on top of one of the tables. So that seemed to be the source of entertainment. She swiftly pulled up some black-haired girl up on the table with her. She was holding the guitar.

"All right! Everybody listen up!!!" she yelled, her voice booming across all the commotion.

"The next song I'm going to sing is one of my personal favourites! I dedicate it to all you awesome ninja dudes and chicks out there who make our daily lives more comfortable. You own Takeshiro-Sempai!" she yelled and pointed towards someone in the crowd but Sasori couldn't see who.

"I keep on falling….in…and out… of love… with'a you!" That's Alicia Keyes, if anyone was wondering.

Sasori was almost tempted to enter. Such a voice! And that natural beauty! She was so perfect… for a puppet! But he knew that if he kept her beauty eternal she would never sing again. Sasori sighed. He had never seen these girls before but despite his curiosity he headed towards HQ. He did not want Leader-sama to get even more angry. Hopefully the excuse about Deidara's …delicate state at the moment was going to be good enough for him.

"Deidara." He started threateningly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming Danna, un." He said bitterly, feeling very jealous of the people inside the restaurant. Those two girls were artists like him and Sasori! He could've asked at least one of them out. He hoped he was going to see them about tomorrow.

Finally, the two of them were back in the HQ. Pein was not happy.

"You are late by 10 hours. How is that so, Sasori? I thought you hated waiting or making others wait." Pein spoke in his usual calm, but steely cold voice. Sasori was gritting his teeth, not that anyone could see that, him being in Hiruko.

"The brat had stomach problems."

Pein raised an eyebrow at Deidara. There was a healthy, indignant blush on his face.

"It's your own fault, brat."

"How could I have known it was spoiled, Danna, un?"

"Enough bickering, you two." Pein cut them off. "I have decided not to punish you for being late due to the fact I hear you have done well on your mission."

"Why did you call us back a weak earlier, Leader-sama?" Sasori asked.

"I have a special assignment for you Sasori, that needs your attention immediately. Take this file, it contains the information that you might need."

"So you called us back for a new mission, Leader-Sama, un?"

"Yes. But it is within the HQ. All is written in the mission file."

"Are we dismissed, sir, un?"

"You may go, Deidara."

The Ex-Iwa ninja nodded his head in respect and left for his own residence. He needed something for his poor stomach.

"There is something you need to know Sasori."

"Yes, Leader-sama?"

"During your absence my men have found three strange girls in the outskirts of the forest outside of the village." Pein started.

"By strange I mean that there is something that isn't right about them. They are obviously not ninja and it is disturbing that they have chakra similar to that of a new born and rapidly developing."

Pein stood up from his chair behind his desk. He walked over to Sasori.

"They claim to come from far away. And they also claim not knowing how they got here. They speak of places I have never heard and I believe at least one of them is slightly schizophrenic. One of the items we found in their possession is a strange black box. We have been trying for more than a week to open it and I must say everything failed."

"And my job is to open this so called black box."

"Yes."

"If I may ask, Leader-Sama."

"You may."

"Why so interested in them?"

"When you see them, you will know." Those were the Leader's cryptic words. He seemed anxious in Sasori's eyes and the Puppet master knew that he was going to have his hands full for a few days.

"You are dismissed."

Sasori left the office to his own devices.


	10. Me and my big mouth

Chapter 10: In your shoes…or are they mine?

_**A/N And this, folks will be the chapter with Hatorri's Narutoverse intro. Many thanks to MT749 who reviews all my chapters, after all R&R to make me write faster ^-^**_

Sasuke was minding his own busyness, eating tomatoes and watching TV after a very hard training session with vengeance on his mind. In two months, he mused, he was going to be a ninja. And that meant he was one step closer to killing his brother.

Sasuke was your average 12 ½ year old soon-to-be teen. Raven black hair and dark onyx eyes, and pale skin- Uchiha trademark. It was important for the story to add that he still lived in the Uchiha grounds, as a reminder of what his brother did all those years ago. Sasuke frowned. He was going to end him, the same way he destroyed their family. There was nothing interesting on TV and if one had the chance, they would say he was more busy brooding that watching anything at all. But it was better than to train non-stop.

"_HOLY SHIT!_"

Sasuke was immediately on guard. Then he heard a splash. Something hit the surface of the Uchiha lake…hard. He needed to investigate.

As fast as he could he got out of his house and headed to the lake. He could see the water move as if something had hit it very hard… and then, in the dark (it was late at night) he saw someone wearing a white shirt floating on the surface, face down.

Something clicked in the young Uchiha's head when he saw that. He had to get the man out of the water. What if he had drowned? Then he had to explain the dead body in his lake… and that would endanger his ninja career and consequently his training.

Sasuke swiftly entered the cold lake and swam over to the body. It was the body of a very tall young man with black hair. He seemed unconscious. The young Uchiha pulled him out with much difficulty.

Finally, after what seemed forever, the man was pulled out of the lake. Sasuke took a few seconds to catch his breath and looked at the man. He wasn't breathing. Sasuke gulped. What if he had to do CPR? He paled at the thought. And just as he was about to do mouth-to-mouth breathing, the man coughed up some water and groaned.

It was really late at night and it was dark. Sasuke couldn't see the man's features. He turned him to the side to help him cough out all of the water. What was he doing swimming/drowning himself on Uchiha territory, anyways? He waited for the man to finish coughing water.

The older of the two finally stopped coughing and took a few shaky breaths before lying on his back, shivering. Sasuke could see he had short, black hair, and bangs similar to his.

"_Ah…my head…"_ the man said in a language that Sasuke could not understand, which for the readers was English. The young man pushed himself slowly into a sitting position. "_I think I might have a concussion..."_

He covered his face with one hand and massaged the bridge of his nose. His eyes were closed and there was a slight frown marring his features. His world was spinning. He needed to get dry and warm and to lie down…

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked in a harsh voice, in Japanese.

The man looked at Sasuke… or at least tried. He could see three dancing copies of the boy and he felt extremely nauseous. He groaned and closed his eyes and lied down again. The last thing he needed was to vomit. He took a few seconds to compose himself. Where was he? What happened? His memories were slightly blurry but he was sure he was last with MJ, Fia, Tifa and L-chan. And he remembered some bright light.

"Whe…Where am I?" he asked weakly in Japanese, trying to keep the bile from rising.

At this point Sasuke was getting annoyed. Did this guy hit his head or something? Was he some drunk? Either way, he wanted him out of his property and fast. Or at least to find out his name.

"You are in the Uchiha Compound. What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked harshly. He was really annoyed. And that was not a good thing.

"Uchiha? Urgh…" the man groaned. He was experiencing a sharp pain to the left side of his rib cage. It was possible he had cracked ribs or a more severe injury.

"How did I get here?" he asked.

"You tell me, you trespassed."

"Hn." It was obvious the man was still trying to pull himself together. The name Uchiha ringed bells but the wheels weren't quite turning yet.

Sasuke sighed in aggravation. He stood up and pulled the man, helping him inside. The sharp pull was not a good idea as he growled out in pain.

"I'll get you inside." Sasuke said coldly.

Once inside the young man laid on the couch, on his right side. The pain in the left side was really trying to catch up on him. He needed to see a doctor. It was warm and comfortable inside and Sasuke came back with a blanket for him.

It was at that point at which they finally could look at each other. And Sasuke was slightly gaping at him… the older of the two looked uncannily like himself.

"Who are you?"

"Hatorri, you?" the man had said.

"Uchiha Sasuke." The boy said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

There was an awkward silence. Hatorri had one of his hands covering his face but he removed it and looked at the boy.

"No, seriously, who are you?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." He repeated rather agitatedly.

Hatorri stared at him with a dumbfound expression. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.

"I must've hit my head hard…" Hatorri mumbled.

"Hn."

"Ok, if you really are Uchiha Sasuke, prove it."

Sasuke now unleashed the Uchiha Glare. Everybody knew who was Uchiha Sasuke! Hatorri laughed apprehensively.

"Uh… ok….you don't have to prove anything…can I use the phone to call my cousin…I think she might've pulled a prank on me."

"Are you sure you're not the one pranking me?" Sasuke asked in a semi-hostile manner.

This kid had some nasty attitude, Hatorri thought, and even a guy with his patience was having a hard time not to put him in his place, Uchiha Sasuke or not.

"Yes I am sure, I don't put my life in danger for the sake of stupidity, unlike some people." The man answered, making sure to emphasize on the word SOME.

Hatorri finally started to feel better after the whole ordeal, the blanket making him feel better. He really needed some dry set of clothes… he remembered having his backpack with him…

"Hey, is there a bag outside by any chance? I think I have a dry set of clothes in it…"

Sasuke eyed him suspiciously. Why would a guy, claiming innocence, would have a spare set of dry clothes?

"My cousin is a very paranoid person and insists carrying a water-sealed bag everywhere…" Hatorri answered the boy's unasked question.

"Right…."

Sasuke went outside and indeed, he found not one but three bags near the bank of the lake… he did not remember them being there…

He brought them inside and left them at Hatorri's feet. He seemed rather confused.

"I don't remember ever bringing this with me to AnimaCon…" he muttered eyeing a large green sport sack which he was sure it contained most of the clothes he had brought at Tifa's house. Then he looked at the other such large bag which now REALLY confused him." And I think I left this in EUROPE."

Sasuke crossed his arms in front of his chest. The hell was with this guy?

"Urm… can I go to the bathroom to change?" he asked politely.

"Second floor, third door to the left."

"Thanks, kiddo." He said, a friendly smile on his face.

The man stood up with a bit of difficulty and ruffled the boy's hair with one hand as he passed him by. Said boy glared but he didn't see it. Soon enough he got down, changed in a dry set of clothes- a white T-shit, Black baggy jeans, a pair of black and white and red sneakers and a black jacket.

"I am really sorry for the inconvenience, but can I use the phone as well? I promise I'll make it up for the inconvenience later."

"It's over there."

"Thanks, kiddo."

"Don't call me 'kiddo'."

"Uh, ok, whatever you say."

Hatorri dialed the number of Fia's cell phone. After waiting for 15 seconds the line was cut.

"Weird…"

He tried again and the call was answered.

"_Hello, Fia? Is this some joke of yours because it really isn't funny and I think I may have cracked a rib or worse…Fia? Can you hear me? Are you there? Feefs? Fi? Hello_?" The line was cut again.

Hatorri put the phone down, slightly peeved. Was his cousin ok? What the hell was going on?

He then dialed MJ's phone. The line was cut nearly immediately.

"Weird…ok… something is wrong…" he said mostly to himself than to Sasuke.

What if the police had them? With Fia's constant hacking… he shivered. Her dad would have his balls if he found out... He dialed L-chan's number. The same results.

"Something is seriously wrong…Kid, please tell me this is some kind of a Joke, because my uncle will have my balls if something Happened to Fia…" his voice sounded really panicky.

The whole time Sasuke was semi-glaring at him, the way only an Uchiha could glare at low-lives. The man's already pale face was now completely drained of all life. He was looking at a family photo that was on the wall, above the phone. His mouth was agape, onyx eyes wide open.

"T-t-that's…mom." He stuttered. It was the picture of Sasuke's family. It was Sasuke's/Hatorri's mom, Sasuke's dad and Uchiha Itachi, which really reminded him of MJ in her earlier years…after seven days of no sleep which she had every time before Cons… it was way better than make up, any day.

Sasuke was still looking at him silently. What the hell was going on?

"You really…are…Uchiha Sasuke?"

The boy nodded.

Hatorri feinted.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**

Hatorri started to come through as he could hear quiet voices talking close by. He felt his rib cage really sore… especially on the left side and he made an attempt to move which woke him up completely as he felt sharp pain.

"Argh." He groaned and squinted his eyes in a painful grimace before opening them.

His vision was slightly blurry and it was a bit too bright but soon enough he could see an old geezer looking down at him with concern in his eyes. He had a short, trimmed beard and it was pretty obvious he was a man in his seventies…even eighties…

"Urgh…" Hatorri groaned again. It was now less bright but he could see it was day time… how long had it passed since he was last conscious… and he was lying on the couch again.

"Hello there." Said the old man and gave the young man a wrinkly smile.

"Uh, hello?" he greeted in a confused manner. The old dude looked familiar, Hatorri thought…

"Sasuke here says he found you swimming…er… drowning…. In his lake. Care to tell me what you were doing there?"

It wouldn't hurt answering, Hatorri mused.

"Uh… I just fell in, I guess… one second it was really bright and the next I was free falling into the lake… then all blacked out and the next thing I remember is him" he pointed at Sasuke who was brooding nearby on a chair and not really looking at him, "looking down at me…and then…hn…"

Hatorri kind of shrugged his shoulders.

"Sasuke said you were in some state of confusion and then you feinted out of shock." The old man helped. He seemed to try and push the young man gently into remembering.

"You said the woman on the picture was your mother." Sasuke added sternly… he seemed to have a very dark emotional feel to him. Hatorri suppressed a shiver.

"Yeah…uh… I can show you a picture of my mom."

Hatorri pulled his bag, which was next to him, and rummaged through it for a while. He pulled out a black leather wallet and opened it. From it he took out a folded picture, put in a plastic bag. He unfolded the picture and showed it to the old man.

It was a picture of him, MJ, Fia and His mom. It was from last year, when he and his mom went in Paris for Fia's seventeenth birthday. MJ was dressed in a very cute mini black dress and her hair had been styled in two low ponytails, one on each side, tied with blood red silk ties. She usually had two Itachi-bangs but now one of them was clipped back with a few beautifully decorated clips that shone brightly with small white and red gems. Her eyes were crystal blue and they really drew attention to her face as she wore some mascara to emphasize on them. Her gentle rosy red lips were shining with transparent slightly rosy glittery glanz. She had some rouge on her pale cheeks. She looked like a doll…and a lot like a certain Uchiha, the old man realized. Sasuke had also joined in staring at the picture.

Next to the girl, in the middle of the picture was Hatorri, also dressed in an official manner. He was smiling happily and his arms were bracing the Black-haired girl and his Blond cousin.

And the girl next to him was smiling in the exactly same way- brightly and foxily. Her azure blue sapphires for eyes were truly beautiful and her beauty matched the beauty of the black-haired girl. The difference was in her voluptuous bust. She was wearing a beautiful bright red summer dress. She had fitting high heel boots and an ample amount of her long lean legs were showing. She was of a tanned complexion, in contrast with everyone else on the picture. She was wearing a solar pendant on her neck, with a very thin golden chain. Golden ornamented bracelets were aplenty on both her arms. Her long blond hair was styled in large curls, fitting her attire perfectly. Her eyes were accentuated with dark golden brown make up and her thick lips with reddish glanz. Her golden mane could make all the gold on her jealous. She looked like a princess.

Above the three teens there was a woman, dressed in an equally official manner- Hatorri's/Sasuke's mom. She was a beautiful, tall woman with pale complexion. Her onyx eyes were shining brightly with happiness. She was standing above the three, possibly standing on a chair, the old man mused, and was embracing all three of them, one hand on MJ's shoulder and the other on Fia. She seemed so kind and protective of those she loved… just like Mikoto…

"That's my mom." Hatorri finally said. "She's really nice and always bakes lovely pies when we have guests." He smiled fondly at the picture, for a moment forgetting his current situation.

"She looks just like Mikoto…" the old man mumbled, surprise obvious in his voice and on his face.

"Who…"

"Uchiha Mikoto was my mother." The boy cut Hatorri.

"Who are you, boy?" the old man asked.

"My name is Johnson Hatorri." He then pointed at the picture." This is my mom, Takayama Sarah. Mom and dad are divorced. My dad, Johnson Jason and Fia's dad" he pointed at the blonde girl" are identical twins. MJ is Fia's best friend and I guess mine as well."

"This is quite peculiar…Do you know where you are?"

"Uh… Uchiha estate?"

"Does it ring any bells to you?"

"Uh…depends…"

Both the old man and Sasuke gave him weird looks.

"Uh… look, my cousin knows more about this manga stuff. Uhm… she says I look like an Uchiha so occasionally she and her club friends 'borrow' me." He said 'borrow' with all the intention to say 'kidnap'.

"Do you know where the Uchiha Estate is."

"Kono-something… I think… It was about forest or… leaves?" he looked at the two questioningly.

"You are in Konohagakure no Sato. The village hidden in the leaves, boy." Said the old man. "I am the Hokage of this village."

"Hokage? You mean that old Sarutobi guy who got killed during the Chuunin exams by some Oreo …or was it Roach?...guy who looks like Michael Jackson?"

Sasuke looked confused… The old man, now identified as Sarutobi Hiruzen, had the WTF expression on his face.

"Uh… woops?" Oh boy.


	11. My mouth is still big and wide openShit

**Chapter 11: **

**I should've kept my mouth shut**

The Hokage was a very understanding and gentle person, Hatorri had realized. He was surprised he hadn't called his What's-it-called bad ass ninja to take him to the interrogation team or something. If anything, he was happy he was still alive.

"So, now that we are safe and secure in my office, please tell us anything you know about Konoha." Sarutobi started.

He had brought him and the young Uchiha in here in case someone was spying on them. When you lived in a ninja world, there was no such thing as being too cautious. And the boy seemed too pale to be normal and still needed medical attention. But for now he needed the information this young man had for him.

"Urgh… it's a long story… Hokage-sama, was it? And I don't know that much really… If you find a blond girl with blue eyes, really cute and talkative, that's my cousin mind you, she will tell you everything there is to know including things you would have never wanted to know in the first place about the Ninja world." The boy seemed unnerved by his situation and the Hokage felt sympathy for him. Sasuke was almost the same way. In fact, the Hokage was worried about him, this was the first time he had seen the boy show emotion in such a way after the Uchiha Massacre.

"You can start where you think it's the beginning then. I'm not pushing you or anything. Tell me what you know, I am here to help you and hopefully help my village in the process."

"Well. You said this is Konoha, right? Uhm… and there are these Chunin exams… and then this guy, Oreo…"

"Do you mean …Orochimaru?" The Hokage asked, fearing the answer.

"Yeah! That's the name. Pale white skin, purple make up on the eyes, yellow snake eyes… long black hair… purple gay butt-bow, right?"

"Do continue." Sarutobi had a disturbed mental image of a certain snake bastard with a purple bow.

"Uhm, well, in the manga Team 7 enters the Chunin exams and Orochimaru tricks the Sand into attacking Konoha… I think Oreo…uh… Orochimaru kills the Kazekage, Gaara's dad, and disguises himself as the Kazekage…" Hatorri furrowed his brows and tried hard to remember more. Right now he didn't want to think what was going on. He needed to take this…situation…wherever he was… as easily as possible.

The young man looked at Sasuke next to him. The cursed seal on his shoulder suddenly sent a small shot of pain through him and he grimaced as he rubbed it to subdue it. Hatorri's face lit up.

"Orochimaru wants Sasuke's body! For the Sharingan! That was the Uchiha bloodline, right?" he exclaimed suddenly, making the Hokage nearly jump in his seat.

The old man lit his pipe. Hiruzen was looking at the young man before him. Who was he? Where did he come from? Did he know the future? He said something about manga. And his uncanny resemblance to the last Uchiha…

"OK, that's enough for now… You can tell me about yourself if you want. Where do you come from. Any idea how you came here. Those sort of things." The Hokage was talking seriously, but in a calm, fatherly fashion, slowly and clearly, so that he did not feel threatened.

"Well, uhm. I think this is kind of crazy…you see… where I come from- there is this manga, comic book story, called Naruto."

At the mention of the name both Sasuke and the Hokage's eyes widened.

"Please continue, Hatorri-kun."

"It's very popular. In fact, my cousin is the leader, unofficial though, of the Akatsuki Fan Club- the biggest Fan Club of the manga. All of them are these crazy chicks and dudes, you have to see it to believe it. They all have these weird Cosplays…urgh…anyways, the Manga Naruto is about a boy named Uzumaki Naruto, I think he was in you class, Sasuke? The dobe, right?"

How did he know about the dobe!?

"What about Naruto?" the Hokage needed to know. At first he thought the young man mental. But his knowledge was accurate. He was by far no ninja then how did he know about Naruto. He needed to try this boy, to make sure he was no spy.

"He is a Jinchuuriki? And this evil organization, Akatsuki, is after him."

"But you said your cousin was the Leader of the Akatsuki Fan Club."

"She named the club after the villains quote unquote "because they have cool cloaks and are bad ass…" oh and one more "and because the dark side has cookies". But its generally a Naruto Fan Club." He even mimicked her high pitched voice.

"Why is this…manga… named after Uzumaki Naruto?"

"He is the main protagonist. Everybody knows that. And the manga is about Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Sasuke here, and Haruno Sakura… a pink haired monster that becomes super strong later on under the tutelage of the Fifth Hokage… I think her name was Tsunade?"

"So Tsunade returns to Konoha after my supposed demise…hmm" the Hokage mumbled. He needed to know more.

"And when is this attack going to be?"

"I remember something about Team 7, Kakashi's team, returning from a mission with some drunken old bridge builder or something and then Kakashi says he'll take them to the Chunin exams…oh and Sasuke!"

The boy looked up at Hatorri expectantly.

"You activate the Sharingan during that mission, trying to save Naruto! Oh and you die, trying to save Naruto. But it was a plot bunny or whatever Fia called it and I think you came back to life after that, or something…"

Sasuke was just looking sternly at him. He was going to die? Then come back to life? This guy was nuts. And his eyes said as much.

"I'm not crazy! You were fighting this Haku chick/dude that had this cool icy bloodline and he/she used needles or something."

"Uhm, I'm not making sense, am I?"

The Hokage sighed. It was going to be a looong day. At least there was not going to be any paperwork on his side. Funny how accurate the kid was about Kakashi being teacher to team 7. Or at least those were his plans.

"You DO survive since you kick bad ass during the Chunin exams and I watched that one on the TV."

"You said it was manga."

"They made Anime version since it was such a success."

The Hokage sighed again and took a puff from his pipe.

"You have this crystal ball thingy which you use to spy people with. It's really cool. Oh, and you have a grandson, Konohamaru and a son, Asuma. He is a chain smoker and he and Kurenai will have a baby after a few years…uhm…what else to make you believe me…" the boy was trying hard, (and was also scratching the back of his head, something of a family trait).

And was succeeding. Nobody, and he meant it, nobody knew of his crystal ball.

"Oh yeah, team Asuma will be the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. They're team 10. And team 8 are Kurenai's team- Hyuuga Hinata, she's very shy and she likes Naruto but he doesn't know it…dog buy Kiba, Inu-something, and bug boy- Aburame Shino who has Matrix Style glasses…but I don't think you know what the matrix is…" his voice dropped down once again.

"Oh, and team 9 is from the year before, Team Gai. Maito Gai is really creepy and he has this mini-me a.k.a. Rock Lee. And the other two Genin are Hyuuga Neji, Hinata's cousin, and Ten-ten."

Then Hatorri smiled a bit, in a way which reminded the old man a lot of Naruto's own foxy grin.

"I remember the teams because Neji's Dad and Hinata's dad are also identical twins. And because Fia made me watch the original Anime series" he said proudly. "Wasn't Neji's old man killed because of some Iwa incident? Them kidnapping lil' Hinata?"

"Sasuke" the Hokage said, feeling it was time to dismiss the boy, as Hatorri, he feared, was going to start spewing village secrets." Please go back to the compound. If there is anything you need to know I'll send a ninja for you."

Sasuke took this as his cue to leave. Today he was excused from the academy so he could come with the Hokage. He felt very uneasy and his heart was heavy- what if this man was some long lost Uchiha? The same question bothered the Hokage and soon enough both would know.

"Now that Sasuke is gone, do you wish to tell me anything else?" The old man now asked very gravely, but still politely.

"I come from another dimension where this entire place is a Manga. I didn't want to spew it in front of Sasuke…and uhm… there is this one more thing…I have this cursed seal on my shoulder and it really itches and sends pangs of pain…I think it might've gotten real." The boy cringed.

The Hokage paled. Nothing seemed to make sense to him at the moment. Especially the 'gotten real' part. The hell!?

"Back in my dimension there is this thing called Cosplay. It means dressing up as a fictional character and acting like them. And Akatsuki Fan Club, AFC for short, consists of the best Naruto Cosplayers. I'm not part of it but my cousin makes me Cosplay Sasuke. And since he went to this Oreo…Orochimaru I mean… in order to get more power to kill Itachi, his brother, he got this cursed seal thingy? It was a temporary tattoo I got but now it hurts… uhm… there is one more thing."

The Hokage looked at him expectantly.

"The Akatsuki hunt down Jinchuuriki. We really need to find my friends… if they're here… they know everything about this place…and I do mean everything. They even know who the Jinchuuriki are and where they are...their weaknesses, strengths…I really mean everything. And they know all the jutsu of the strongest leaf ninja. We have to find them before the bad guys."

Hatorri seemed really worried about it. The Hokage was stressed by all of this.

"Besides, Fia's dad will cut my balls off if something happened to his only offspring." Hatorri laughed nervously. " And there is one thing that really worries me but I think we have to check if I have an Uchiha gene or not…"

"What do you mean?"

"If I have the cursed seal because Sasuke would have it, that means I have the Uchiha Gene because Sasuke has it. And that makes me Uchiha…sort of, right?"

That actually made sense… but not before making some tests.


	12. Sasuke, my side kick

**Chapter Twelve:**

**Konoha's nice, I guess…**

For the past 24 hours several very important things happened to Hatorri. First, he was somehow transported to the Narutoverse. Second, he was sure the rest of his Con team was here somehow as well. Third, the Hokage was kind enough to listen and _**understand**_ his story, and now he was going to live with this Sasuke kid, which he had vowed to help become a better person.

It was his third day here. That morning he woke up with the intention of going to the Hokage to find out whether he had the "Uchiha" gene or not. Yesterday he had been through some blood tests while Sasuke was at the Academy.

Speaking of the last Uchiha, Sasuke was a very quiet kid, and he eerily reminded him of MJ when he first met her. In fact, it was understandable – MJ's older brother was killed when she was eight by a stray bullet during a trip to the mall. It was now that he actually realized how similar MJ and Sasuke were.

Hatorri sighed and rubbed his cursed mark. The Hokage had told him that currently he would see if the cursed seal needed the sealing. It was, after all, a tedious and painful procedure which Hatorri would be far from fond of. That and he had the distinct feeling Hatorri was not the hungry for power type. It was in his eyes. Fia had once even told him that he had this 'knightly' shine in his eyes and at the thought Hatorri chuckled.

That was the moment in which Hatorri noticed the delicious aroma coming from downstairs. Who knew Sasuke was a good cook? Hatorri had always thought Sasuke was a heartless bastard, the way Fia spoke of him, but he seemed ok once you got used to his 'hn' attitude towards everything. And Fia was biased anyways.

Still, Sasuke was being exceptionally nice to him for one sole reason. Yesterday night Hatorri had told him everything he knew about Itachi. And he knew the more important stuff. For his surprise, Sasuke looked relieved. Why? Because he still loved his Aniki, and deep down inside he never really had the heart to kill him. Now he had a new plan in his head, that avenger boy. He wanted to help his brother by becoming stronger. And he wanted to kill this Madara.

The young Uchiha still had a long way to go when it came to his mindset but Hatorri was patient. He would get the avenging ideas out of his head. At least most of them.

"What are you doing, kiddo?"

"Hn." Sasuke hated his new nickname. And he even preferred Sasuke-kun to being called 'kiddo'. Seriously, couldn't he take a hint!?

"Smells nice…Aren't you late for the Academy?"

"Its Saturday, we don't have Academy at weekends."

"Oh…"

Hatorri did the math. If it was Saturday today, that meant there was some kind of temporal dislocation. It was Monday as far as he remembered back at home and he was pretty sure that there were only a few seconds of bright light and then BAM! He was in the Uchiha lake. But he was going to worry about it later, there was nothing he could do, except maybe train in order to find his Cousin and the rest of the damsels in his Con Team.

"Hey, kiddo?"

"Stop calling me that."

"Wanna train? I wanna see if you are as good as they come."

Sasuke gave Hatorri a look. Hatorri was grinning like a Cheshire Cat… or rather a foxy grin. Was he for real? He didn't seem much, even though he seemed to have a trained, muscular physique.

"Hn."

"Great! We'll go outside after breakfast!"

Another thing that really unnerved Sasuke was how well he could understand him. Only a few people had the ability to know whether his 'hn' was yes or a no.

Breakfast was silent in any case, both digging in with precisely the same movements. They looked at each other and Hatorri grinned happily. Sasuke had noticed how cheerful, but calm and collected Hatorri was. And he had also noticed how nice it was to have someone around. Someone who understood him like Hatorri. It was almost like…well… dare he say it? Family.

"Do you guys eat this Asian stuff all the time?" Hatorri pointed casually at the food Sasuke had made with his chopsticks.

Sasuke frowned. Did he not like his cooking? He was a natural when it came to household stuff. Cooking? Yum. Cleaning. He was awesome at it, too. You name it and he could do it.

"It's nice, really. But don't you get bored of it?"

Sasuke gave him a look again. He really must have come from far away.

"I'm used to international cooking. Don't you eat lasagna? Or steak? We should eat different stuff every day you know? Like, lets have Italian day, French day…it will really help your body become stronger. And we need you to eat lots of carrots. Good for the eyes. For vitamin A and all that jazz."

"…what's lasagna?"

"You'll love it! It's like the next best thing after real Italian Pasta!" Hatorri said enthusiastically, his eyes glowing lovingly.

He was, after all, a Johnson. And Johnsons were slightly insane, smart, strong, and had iron wills. Good spirits came with the up-bringing. And the Johnsons had traditions.

Sasuke found out that Lasagna had tomatoes. At least that was what Hatorri had told him. And tonight, Hatorri was going to cook.

"Wanna go outside for a walk before the training? The food needs to 'settle in' if you catch my meaning. Unless you like barfing…"

"Hn."

"Meet you outside then!"

Hatorri was excited. He didn't really have explored Konoha yet and he wanted to get a good view of the Hokage monument. The Uchiha complex was rather dull and silent because it had only two residents. But it was huge! He was sure that when they found Fia and the rest Sasuke wouldn't mind having them with them. And Fia WAS the best cook ever. And MJ was good with cleaning. He didn't know about Rose, she always seemed to just sit around and give orders.

Both were now properly dressed to go out. Hatorri was with his trademark black jacket and he also had a black baseball hat on his head, so that they didn't look THAT similar.

They just started walking randomly about Konoha, Sasuke commenting from time to time on a restaurant or a location of importance. He wasn't talkative though.

There were also lots of whispers and mumbles about them and it was impossible not to notice how people were staring at them. Sasuke was surprised Hatorri wasn't reacting.

"I'm used to it, kiddo. I'm used to it." He had said as a matter of factly, not really disturbed by the attention.

"Hn."

After a few more minutes Hatorri stopped and looked at the Hokage Monument. Screw Mount Rushmore! Hokage monument FTW! And the heads were so life-like!

"Can we go on top of the Hokage Monument?"

"Hn."

"Great!"

The view from the top of the Hokage Monument was amazing. The Hokage tower was close by and he could see an endless sea of trees, huge trees, mind you, around the village. He remembered Fia saying that it was the first Hokage who had built the village with his bare hands… or rather his Moku-something.

"Wanna tell you a secret?" Hatorri whispered comparatively.

Sasuke raised an eye brow at him.

"The Fourth Hokage is Naruto's dad. But don't tell anyone."

Sasuke was gaping at him. He was sure Hatorri wasn't lying because he had heard plenty of things coming out of his mouth. How could the Fourth Hokage PRODUCE something as STUPID as Naruto.

"The…dobe? No way. No. He is epitome of all that is stupid, clumsy… and stupid."

"He is. I swear."

"Hn."

"Have you seen a picture of the fourth? Naruto is his spitting image! Minus the whiskers, of course. But that's another thing that I'll leave when we are not out in the open. I've already said so much to get my head on a stick." He grinned foxily.

"You are ridiculous. How can you be so calm when you are practically spewing village secrets?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"It's the laid-back attitude that keeps me from trouble. And I've never been the worry-wart type. You know, I am planning on telling you everything I know and make sure you know everything as much as possible about this place because you're like the second most important character and I know that my cousin will kill me but at least I won't go down without a cause….Hey! That made perfect sense! Ahem… Anyway, my motto is Hakuna Mattata. Which means no worries! And when I'm done you'll be singing it along with me, my faithful side kick!"

He put his had on Sasuke's shoulder and sighed, looking at the village scenery before him. That moment would have been perfect if it wasn't for Sasuke-grumpy.

"You're being ridiculous." He shoved off Hatorri's hand.

"But you love it. I can see it in you eyes, I can see the mental smirk." The older boy said in a rather sing song voice.

"I can't believe that you are 19, you know that?" Sasuke said semi-annoyedly, since Hatorri had been spot on.

The older boy grinned. Messing with Sasuke was too fun. Was this what it feels like to have a younger sibling? A younger brother?

"Believe it!" Insert trademark foxy grin and good guy pose.

Sasuke shook his head. He was trying really hard to be funny, wasn't he?

"OK, lets get back and train, so you can kick my ass."

"Fine." Sasuke finally smirked.


	13. More people enter the game

**Chapter 13:**

**Now with even MOAR ninja!**

Peter was what one could consider a man of honor. He was also incredibly intimidating when pissed. His unnaturally aqua green eyes were eyeing his 'suspect' casually. Light Yagami, also known as Leo, short of his real name, was tied up with thick ropes to a chair. He was acting pretty cool, almost smug looking.

The Sephiroth-man hated his attitude. And he was freaked out with worry. They had to find their friends. And so many missing at the same time. It had taken him about a week to find out that not only MJ, L-chan, Fia, Hatorri and Tifa (Hidan) were missing. Charlie had suddenly disappeared during lunch break from her school, Helen, Hannah and Simon Woodsworth had disappeared during an avalanche in the French Alps but he was sure it was connected with the others. Said siblings were the infamous Hyuuga trio. The tall silver-haired sex god flicked a bang away from his eyes. Light was either pretending not to know anything, or he was pretending being calm. He needed to find his friends. And all of them were of the Inner Circle of the AFC. The cops had been at his house the other day, asking questions. And they also got his wife worried, on top of that, which made him especially angry. He and an Aerith Cosplayer had married 6 months prior this current day and she was three months pregnant with their first child. If anything happened to her because of them he would definitely pull a Sephiroth on their asses.

And right now he was considering his chances if he asked Light for his help. From what Fia had told him, Light was just as smart as she was, and she was the frikkin' genius of the 21st century. He ought to know what was going on.

"Light, 9 members of the AFC's Inner Circle are missing. And I'm very serious about this. And I am certain that it isn't a CosWar. It isn't possible for them to disappear from the face of the Earth. Not like that." He snapped his fingers. Peter was trying to be calm and collected but the slight strain in his voice and the worried shimmer of his eyes betrayed his true emotions.

"What are you suggesting?" Light calmly got to the point.

"Call off the feud and unite in order to find them before the police does." Peter said seriously.

"Hm…" Light slightly furrowed his brows. "I told her hacking bank accounts was a bad idea but I doubt she ever listened to what I said. She rarely pays heed but she usually is fine in the end. She might've pissed off some high-ups pretty badly. They might've kidnapped her… as to how she disappeared in a flash of light I can only guess she isn't the only one with a supercomputer like hers about… People like Fia can cause World Wars in a blink of an eye."

Peter was surprised that Light was so quick to help when he asked him.

"Don't look dumb. We were, after all, childhood friends and rivals, and still are. And untie me, you're ruining my Cos."

"Still a bastard."

"When it's you, I see why not. I don't need to be nice to people like _you._"

"Hn."

There were a few seconds of lighting striking from their eyes as they glared at each other. Peter finally smirked and untied Light.

"I will make a few calls if you don't mind. People need to know of our situation."

Peter handed Light's mobile phone back.

It was going to be a long and tedious day. At least his lovely wife had cooked chicken, his favorite. Kate was a wondrous housewife and the perfect Aerith Cosplayer. But he didn't marry her for that. He married her because he loved her. Cheesy, isn't it?

"Come, wife made dinner."

Light nodded. Usually he would smirk deviously but he was worried about Fia, mainly. Fia and Leo had something special and Peter always wondered if they had ever dated each other. They were very, intimately, close with each other. But Peter knew that Light wanted to date with L-chan so he dismissed that idea, the one about them dating. But they must have something about each other, he was sure, even if they never noticed it.

Dinner was mostly quiet, except for Light's occasional phone calls. He was contacting the Inner Circles of the respective fan clubs and most weren't happy to hear about the "Feud is Ovah!" situation. Still, it was that or get their asses fried, as the AFC was not the only club leeching money via hacking. And if the AFC conspiracy went live, then all of them were sure to be checked as well. Needless to say, people were going to do jail time. So the newly created "Cosplayers Unite!" was a result from the need to save everybody's asses, not just rescue the kidnapped AFC members.

Pretty much everybody was sick with worry and paranoia these days. Peter, being the leader of ShinRa, the best Final Fantasy Fan Club, was probably never going to see the light of day if the CONspiracy went live.

_Why did you have to disappear, Fiffie?_ He mentally whined at his little sister figure.

"I have an update on our situation."

Peter looked up at Light.

"It appears that two more people have disappeared by the same means."

Peter's heart stopped beating for a few seconds.

"And Fia hasn't pissed some high-ups, at least I think she hasn't… it's just a hunch. Apparently, the people missing are some guy named Misoshi Romero, from Japan. He doesn't seem to have any connections to any fan club or Fandom in general, according to Lilly-Anne."

Lilly-Anne Philips was the leader of the Shinigami. She was a Matsumoto Rangiku Cosplayer. She kind of looked like Fia, both physically and psychologically. And both were ridiculed about it.

"And?"

"The other missing is one of mine." He stated, almost professionally.

"And that is?"

"Let me finish and I will tell you."

Peter glared at him and was about to retort.

"Peter." Kate gave him a warning look, which told him not to pick a fight and to listen to the young man.

"Pardon me, Kate." He smiled guiltily and she nodded curtly.

"As I was saying, this Misoshi person does not fit the set mold of kidnapping pattern. I need to look up all the info before I make a conclusion."

"I see."

"In the mean time we need to speak to the respective families, even bribe them into silence, which should be easy."

"And about that other person missing?"

"Her name is Sylvia Bri." Light said curtly. He never liked to give out info about his own club.

"I know her!" Kate exclaimed excitedly. "She was that nice, charming pale girl with the Elizabeth Taylor eyes!"

"Who?"

"The SnJ L-Cosplayer, Pete."

"How come you know her and I don't?" the Sephiroth Cosplayer looked at his wife.

"She used to be in my cooking class but we didn't talk much. She is a bit odd but nice. Keeps distance from people." She explained.

"Oh." There wasn't much to say about this.

Light's phone rang again. Once he had turned it on it had been ringing almost non- stop. He had been dragged by Peter and he had been his hostage for a few days. Not in the criminal sense but he was still tied up to that very comfortable massage chair in the basement. He was taken to the bathroom when needed and he was fed with the best warm sandwich pockets he had ever tasted, courtesy of Kate, so he was practically on vacation there. Enough ranting.

"Light here, what's the… oh, hi Mother." He said timidly, after the first part, which was said in a cool voice.

Peter raised an eyebrow when he heard the muffled yells of Leo's mother. She was yelling at him for explainable reasons. Light was slightly cringing at her tone, not really used to being yelled at by other people that his obnoxious rival, Fia. Her lines were along the way of 'Where have you been?', 'I was so worried, young man!', 'Did you hear Fiona was kidnapped?', 'I thought the two of you had eloped and run off without telling me!' At the last part she had burst into tears.

Light had a freaky look on his face and he was red from head to toes.

"Mom, I have not eloped and I don't know where Fia is but I won't come back home until I find her. I'm crashing at some friend's house at the moment and we're planning on getting the gang together to find the missing people. Please don't tell the police about it. Just tell them I am at a friend's house and that I am fine."

More muffled words could be heard from the phone.

"Yes, mother, I am aware of that… No, she is only a friend… Yes… No… Of course… Yes, mother… Yes, I have enough underwear… No…I am a man of my word and a man of honor…Of course… NO, don't give the phone to da-… Hi, Father."

You couldn't NOT be sympathetic to the boy. His father was a bit tactless and senseless when it came to his son.

"I already told Mother that I have not eloped with Fia. No, I do not plan on marrying her. Yes, that's the one. It's not because of the rack, dad… or her family."

After 10 more minutes of ridiculous parent-child talk, Light finally let the mobile phone down on the table. He let out a heavy side. He then looked up at the Sephiroth Cosplayer, surprised he was not being ridiculed by him.

"I totally understand you man." Peter said emotionally.

"Probably half of our club members are like that, us included. Though Pete-kun and I here did elope." Kate giggled heartily.

Light nodded in gratitude. This was rather humiliating. At least they understood his pain.

"So we are doing our own research?"

"Of course. The Don is already working on setting up a pattern for the kidnappings." Light continued, looking at an SMS that he just received. At the moment he was subconsciously contemplating the pros and cons of getting a personal assistant to deal with all these calls and messages. Maybe he needed one. He was getting a bit busy with all this kidnappings going on.

"So, what now?"

"Now we wait for the hurricane to pass."

"Stay low and play dumb?"

Light nodded at Peter. It was a serious matter and they knew it. You see, people like them, like Fia, MJ and the others… they were often called crazy, psychotic, cultists even. And there were things, obviously, that they did and that were considered crimes against society, namely stealing money via hacking and other such things that they did. They should be considered as a threat to mankind. But they were not bad guys. In fact, they even tried to help out with charities and such. It was something they were compelled to do in order to promote their fandom, and, of course, out of kindness.

But most people did not understand their double way of life. And most people would send them to a psycho clinic or behind bars. Keeping the Other Side of Cosplay from being discovered by government and international institutions was a priority now. And they also needed to find their friends.

"We need headquarters." Light suddenly stated after making another lengthy phone call.

"We can use one of the Romano Manors…"

"Out of the question. Lilly-Anne just told me she phoned Mr. Romano and he told her the cops are watching over every single estate they have. She was subtle enough. Also, their phones are bugged."

Peter nodded.

"What can we use then?"

"Something they would not expect us to. Something that even CIA won't think of…" Light rubbed his chin deep in thought. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Why did they have to pluck Fia too? She always has some hideout somewhere or at least a good idea."

Peter raised his eyebrows. Light was not one to give in to pressure. But his worry over his friends and all those who were kidnapped were more then enough to make even people like him crack a bit.

"You're smart, Leo." Kate gave him a supportive smile. "And I am sure we are plenty of Cosplayers and we can think of something. Currently, all the leaders are in America…"

Something clicked and turned in Light's head. His eyes widened with realization.

"I know the perfect spot."

The tension in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. However, despite how perfect this moment was for a cliff hanger, this chapter was yet to be finished.

"Care to elaborate?"

"There is one person that is a great anime fan and that is well respected and known on DeviantArt. In fact, you know her too. She created like the greatest fandom based on fandom."

"You don't mean…_her?_"

"Yes, Narsilion- the _Revered._"

And yet again, there was silence. It was amazing really, when one thought about it. Narsilion, or Sam Taylor, as she was also known, was a big Naruto fan. And she happened to create what people referred to the Second Best Thing in Naruto. SBTN, also known under the codename Sebastian. Yes, that's right – Naruto Post Legends. And Sebastian was an Elite Cosplay exclusive codename. That made spies jealous.

First, it had started with a few casual fanfics. Then a few casual Cosplays. And then it was like a huge atomic bomb had hit the Fandom Market. Suddenly one could see Mubis and Zabukis everywhere. Team 24 galore. They were everywhere. In fact, a part of the Inner Circle was represented by a few Akatsuki II Cosplayers. Had Narsilion known that something like this would happen, she would've put up a higher price on her fan Manga. Still, she was regarded as high as Kishimoto himself, mainly because her characters were well thought over.

Five minutes after the revelation of what they must do, Lilly-Anne received an SMS saying "Meet me at Sebastian's."

Lilly-Anne was a natural beauty with cunning blue eyes and voluptuous body. She was a calm and calculating woman and, as stated earlier, she resembled Fia both physically and mentally. The difference was that instead of being an Evil Genius on the inside, she was an Evil Genius, but Gandhi style, on the outside. By evil, I meant that people that smart were in no way virtuous. She just had a tamed inner fangirl, which was Fia's outside. Light believed that Fia would become one day just like Lilly. And he was probably right. If only it would happen sooner. Not even an almost fatal meeting with a 12 meter saltwater croc could mellow out her crazy fangirl ways. Not much anyways. She was more careful now.

When she received the SMS she seemed confused. Why would anybody gather at Narsillion's house? It was obvious why they were using this special codename- they were probably bugged. She sighed. So many people went missing that it was obvious why nearly all the higher-ups of all the clubs were probably bugged in hopes of finding out a bit more. It was a waste of time really. People who didn't know anything about Cos obviously knew nothing about the Intergalactic Cosplay Code. And one of the main rules was never fight for real and never do anything incriminating, well...just don't get caught. In real life most of them knew each other and had civilized conversations. Cons were different. During Cons they were almost like football hooligans. Almost being key word. It was all for fun anyways. It was their way of keeping up the quality of the Cos, anyways.

Still, as she was sitting in her comfortable chair in her hotel room, she couldn't help but wonder. Why would somebody want to kidnap these specific set of people? L-chan was rich and was a lawyer. Her father had lots of connections. Fia was a crazy hacker. It was possible someone wanted payback. MJ was the daughter of two of the best doctors in Britain. The Woodsworth siblings are of noble family, also rich. Tifanny Mitchels was a Corporal in the French Foreign Legion. Her sharpshooting skills were beyond legendary. Hatorri was Fia's cousin and Fia's family was generally rich.

And that's the point at which things stopped adding up. All these people were perfect for getting large amounts of money.

Lilly again looked at her lap top. She was looking at some info one of her hacking friends had sent her. She was looking at the image of a young man with mid-length, black hair that was slicked back. His eyes were vivid green. He was of pale Asian complexion. His physique was pleasing to the eye and he was also nice and tall. He also had a handsome face.

_20 years of age, 185 cm_… she read on. Cute guy, she thought, date-able. A bitter smile appeared on her face. This man was an athlete. He had nothing to do with any of the fandoms and had, on top of that, disappeared in the same fashion as the rest who were missing.

And elegant finger stroke gently against her lower lip. She always did that when she was deep in thought. He was one piece of the puzzle that sure as hell did not in any way add up. The rest had some kind of connection. He had none.

She grunted. A headache was coming, she could just feel it. She massaged her temples for a while. It had been a week since the last kidnap. It was time to do a rerun.

It all started two weeks ago when, right before her very own eyes, there was a sudden flash of yellowish, very bright mind you, light and then there was a power out. And the AFC members had simply poofed away from existence. She still remembered every detail. It was quite possible for the several minutes of confusion and lack of light, and in almost complete darkness for someone to have managed, somehow, to kidnap them. It was weird, though. Out of all of them Fia was the only one with questionable fitness, and she was a little demon spawn, a spitfire with more power backing up her fists that a blond bimbo should have. Then again she ate like a pig, and took 5 pounds of sugar, the least, every day. That would explain her power… or so went the rumors. Light never really talked about her eating habits when he had her cunning to consider. To get to the point, even lazy lil' Feefs could put up a crazy fight. HOW the hell were they kidnapped? Were they stunned or drugged in some way? HOW?

And approximately, if not even exactly at that same time of day, Charlotte Georgiana, some SnJ Gaara Cosplayer she had seen once or twice, had disappeared during Lunch Break in school. There seemed to be reports of a bright flash of light, as well.

And what's up with the freaking flash of light? Did they get kidnapped by aliens or something? At this point Lilly considered even aliens. She hadn't slept for days. A week later, out of the blue, this guy Misoshi Romero, Sylvia Bri of the Death Librarians and the Woodsworth (Hyuuga) siblings disappeared.

Misoshi had disappeared in a flash of light during some test sprints or something. Sylvia disappeared while taking out the trash, also via flash of light, and the Woodsworth sibling disappeared supposedly in an avalanche incident. But astronomically, they had disappeared at exactly the same time as the other two, despite Sylvia being in the State of Montana, U.S.A., the Woodsworths being in the French Alps on Vacation, and Misoshi – Tokyo, Japan.

And it was the same pattern as the first 'wave' of supposed kidnapping. They really needed to know more but at this point talking to the relatives with all the police about was dangerous.

The Fan Club situation was like this: The government and other international organizations were onto the disappearings. If they even got a whiff of how they got their money, which would take a helluva lot of time, all of the higher up members were screwed. So, the sooner they find the missing members, the better. And if they did it before the police – bonus cookies for Christmas!

The Rangiku look-alike rested her head on the back of the chair, staring lazily at the boring creamy white sealing. She shook her head lightly and looked back at the task at hand- Misoshi Romero. WHY was he kidnapped when he is not part of any fandom? And why did they disappear at exactly the same time.

There were several video tapes and .avi's with the last moments of the said people. In fact, after the bright flash of light, which was nearly blinding, the videos got screwed meaning the followed recording was static.

And there were plenty of witnesses. It was almost the perfect crime. Almost. There were still plenty of clues they could work on.

Her cell phone buzzed again. She jumped a bit in a start as it was on her lap.

"Rangi… I mean, Lilly-Anne speaking."

"Check your mail box." Said a mechanical voice. It was The Don, her personal Hacker. She had absolutely no idea who he was. At first he was stalking her, ever since her first appearance on a convention three years ago. She had been a hardcore fan of Bleach but until now her hair had been too short to pose as Rangiku, her favorite character. Her strawberry blonde hair was the perfect length and at her 20th birthday, she had strutted her stuff on that particular Con.

At first, she was creeped out. Then he started sending her mails, calling her on the phone, with that Microsoft Sam robotic voice. At that point she was completely freaked out. And then, one night a year and a half ago, while she was coming back from a little 24/7 mall close to her house, she was attacked and nearly raped. And she had been knocked out. When she woke up, she found herself covered in a blanket in the police station. She feared the worst but then the policewoman had told her some man brought her in, after saving her from a rapist which was currently behind bars. And when she had gotten home, she had found a bouquet of red roses going with a card. It was then that she found out something about him. He called himself The Don, or as she referred to him- Dannie.

Lilly-Anne opened her mailbox. She had several e-mails with attached files. When she opened the first, she nearly dropped her lap top in surprise.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE… you get the point xD**

An Asian woman of pale, Asian, complexion was sitting on the side of a loveseat. In one hand she was holding a glass filled with whiskey, with the other hand, she was wiping away tears that seemed not to dry.

The tall woman had beautiful onyx eyes with thick black eye lashes. She had small mouth, thin doll-like rosy lips. Long black shiny, silky hair was now damp with the woman's worry. The otherwise astonishingly beautiful woman was now a ghastly wreck of her usual self. There were several other people in the room.

Most notable was the large, tall man-mountain old man. He was of typical northern rosy complexion but his eyes were deep azure blue. Just bellow his nose he had a bushy white moustache and he also bore an aristocratic looking pointy beard. The top of his head was shinily bald but where he had hair, it was very thick. The man was absolutely perfectly neat. He seemed stern and disciplined. His face bore a stone-cold emotionless mask, but his eyes also shimmered with worry. He was wearing expensive clothes. An old, antique pipe was smoking from the left tip of his mouth.

It was Jonathan Johnson Senior. And that man could be referred to as the Clan head of the Johnson family. He was quite the intimidating and imposing character. His two twin sons, his only, eldest child, daughter and his youngest son were also here. It was a rare occasion to see all of the Johnsons together. And it was a Grave occasion.

The Johnson twins were like two drops of water. They were identical twins. Jonathan Jr. and Joshua Johnson. On the inside, they couldn't be more different. Like Thor and Loki. It was funny how they could be so easily compared to them, because of their characters. And Jo Sr. was Odin himself, being so tall and scary and all.

The youngest Johnson son, namely Jasper, who was 27, was of his dad's pale complexion and azure blue eyes. His hair however was chocolate brown, like old lady Johnson, who was not present due to medical reasons. All four kids looked like their mother. Jasper's hair was shoulder-length, styled in dreadlocks, much to his old man's dismay. But Jasper loved his own style and he was also the family's first DJ. He was busy looking the internet for any possible clues as to where the precious Johnson Cubs were.

Jasmine was the only daughter of the old man. She looked exactly like her mother- chocolate, wavy brown hair, brown warm eyes, and very beautiful. She was sitting with the distraught mothers, comforting them. She was eldest, nearly 50 years old. She was unsuccessfully married, now divorced and had three boys, all of them bundles of Johnson pride and joy. They were not present, however, as two of them were in a Military Academy, and the third, the youngest, was with his father.

As one might've guessed, the last person in the living room was Fia's mom- a woman with the intricate, yet beautiful name of Jubilation. The usually stoic and collected woman was sitting there, her tears long dried up, just staring unmovingly in a single spot on the floor. She was too distraught by her own worry. She might've not been close to her only child, but once she was returned, she would make sure to change that. She wanted her baby angel. Oh, how she wanted to embrace her baby angel.

And yet we are back to the first person presented- Sarah Takahashi. Mother of one son- Hatorri Johnson. Ex-wife of Joshua Johnson, who she hadn't since their divorce, three years ago. If it was any other occasion, she was going to beat the crap out of him. Because he was a cheating bastard and a liar.

And yet he was the best father a kid could have. He took their kid somewhere every weekend, called everyday to hear him, and sent them money in order for them to be in a well off environment. He did everything to be there with him. And because of that she had not put her almost ninja ass into killing him for cheating on her with one of Hatorri's teachers- a woman 10 years younger than him.

Their son had changed school because of that and now, like Fia, he was studying in a private prestigious school. He had graduated with flying colors. And he wanted to become a doctor for a reason that Sarah was sure as hell was a certain black haired pale girl with crystal blue eyes.

She started crying even harder, wailing for her baby darling to come back home. She was a strong woman, really. But her only weakness and her only true love and happiness in her life was her only son- Hatorri.

As if on cue, Fia's mom started wailing as well, both hugging each other and crying their eyes out over their missing offspring, squeezing the guts out of the poor Jasmine.

The phone rang and suddenly everyone was as quiet as mice.

"Hello, this is Jonathan Johnson Sr. speaking."

Mumbles could be heard coming from the phone. The old man's entire attention was concentrated solely on the speaker on the other side of the line. Everyone was waiting, suspense filling the air.

"Very well, I shall inform them."

The two distraught mothers practically smashed themselves onto him, wide desperate eyes shining with hope, hangs grasping and ruining his perfect beige upper suit.

"Another person has gone missing." Jonathan announced. After a brief emotional pause, the women started wailing again.

"Any connection to our kids?" asked Joshua seriously.

"Some girl named Sylvia Bri. Orphan. Lived in Montana or something." J-J Sr. said, sighing in hopelessness.

"It's been two weeks! And this woman Sylvia Bri has been missing for a week before anyone found out she was actually missing." There was a slight note of rage in the old man's voice. "What is it with institutions these days, huh? A week! A whole bloody week! For all we know they might not even know where to look! I should just get my shot gun and call my brothers in arms and kill a few…"

"Dad, please!" Jasmine exclaimed warningly as the other two females were getting worser by each word he said.

"I apologize, Jazz." He said softly to his only daughter. "I just need to do something about this…" he sighed heavily and sat on the armchair next to the fire place. He took the metal stick and poked the embers to liven up the fire that was burning. It was an unusually cold day today, even if it was summer.

"It's ok… it's just so surreal… all of this. Hatorri is a black belt and Fiffie is …well, you know how Fia is…and that woman, from the Foreign Legion, she was with them too…I-I just don't know what to think…"

"I've made a decision." The old man finally said after 10 minutes of silence, ignoring the quietly weeping now women.

All looked up at him.

"I know that this may sound strange, but I believe that some of the Pups' friends might help us. Especially Fia's boyfriend-"

"Rival." Jubilation automatically corrected, the way her own daughter had done so many times. At the thought about it, she wept a bit harder, and Jasmine put an arm around her shoulder cooing soft, comforting words.

"That boy has some pack of brains on his shoulders. Where is he?"

"No one knows. He disappeared. But the police haven't announced him as one of the kidnapped." Said Jonathan Jr., "I think he may be with some friends. I know the boy well. He might be looking for a way to find them."

The Clan head nodded.

"Men, women, I believe that drastic occasions call for drastic measures. And us Johnsons, if I dare say, are known for being extreme and strong headed. We never give up. As such, I've decided to find the Leopold boy and his friends. They will need us during the search. And I have experience in tracking."

"What about the police." J-J Jr. said.

"They won't find out what we are up to until we find our children and the others." He answered chewing his words in passive rage.

"Where do we start?" It was Joshua this time.

"Where else? Vegas."

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE…. Yay for cliffies!**

It was really early in the morning. 3:27 in the morning to be precise. A random dog was barking in the distance, but other than that it was a quiet, slightly chilly night. A car parked in front of the building.

It was a rather large Nissan. And there were several people in it, people too unlikely to be seen together. Lilly-Anne was driving the large Nissan. On the seat next to hers Light was _lightly_ (couldn't help it XD) dozing, his head limply tiled to the side, a small drool having found its way on the side of his face. He was also snoring cutely. In the back two rolls were cramped several people. Benjamin, or Ben, the Kisame Cosplayer, for protection reasons, Peter, who was also dozing, Edward, the pale Amedara Cosplayer, his partner in crime…err…Cosplay, a Hakushi Cosplayer, who seemed pretty ordinary without the paintwork but was actually a doctor, and his name was Karl. The other three were Kate, Malena, her Husband Marco and their two kinds, Tifa and Vincent, who were extremely cutely sleeping in their laps, Tifa holding her favorite plushie – a Mubi plush doll.

Lilly-Anne was very nervous for two reasons. First, she had never met the woman. Second, she had gotten a hold of her address via The Don, because only a handful of the AFC Inner Circle knew her address and on top of that Malena, the nice blue-haired woman did not know it.

And right now, she had to call her on the phone, in exactly 3:30 in the morning, introduce herself, explain their situation to her, and ask if they can crash in for an indefinite amount of time, with 2 kids and a pregnant woman. None of which she knew, at all. She wanted to hit her head on the steering wheel so badly right now. She would've done it by now too- if it wasn't for the fact she'd blow the horn and wake up the entire neighborhood.

She dialed the number The Don had given her. After 30 seconds there was no answer and she shut the phone. She was flushed from head to toe with embarrassment. She wanted to just go home and forget about this. But that thought vanished as soon as it appeared. Her missing mates were counting on her. And just because she was too much of a moralist to wake up somebody in the night did not mean that she had another choice she could come up with from thin air. She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.

She dialed the number again. After 30 seconds, she was about to shut it down, when the call was answered.

"Mfff…'ello." It was an extremely sleepy voice of a young female in her early twenties.

'Thank you.' Lilly thought gratefully to nobody in particular.

"Erm...H-hi?" She started nervously, her voice a higher pitch than usual. "My name is Lilly-Anne Philips. I am …_oh god…_ The leader of the Bleach Fan Club… You are friends with…err… Fiona Johnson and Michael Jessica Keats, right?"

"Mffwhuh?"

"Fia and MJ."

"Yeah…what about them…" the _Revered_ asked.

"They were kidnapped and well… doyoumindhavinguscrashinginyourhomewithapregnantwomanandtwokids?"

"Yeah, sure… *snore*" Narsilion had fallen asleep again and by the noise she heard, Lilly guessed she had fallen asleep on top of her cell phone.

Lilly whimpered. She closed the line and dialed again.

Unbeknownst to her the sudden penetration of violent sounds coming from a certain communication device currently used as a make shift part of a pillow, had the poor Sam Taylor freak out of her poor mind and jump high up in the air, after which she fell dramatically on the ground. Lilly-Anne, however, heard the whole ordeal, as Narsillion's cheek had pressed the green phone button. She had heard an unwomanly yelp and then a painful thud on the floor. The Rangiku-girl cringed.

After several shuffling sounds, the phone was picked up:

"Hello?"

"Urm… I called earlier… the Leader of the Bleach Fan Club."

"What?" she asked confusedly, but at least fully awake, if a bit (very) grumpy now for being woken up in an ungodly hour of the night and in such a violent fashion.

"Can me and my friends stay for a while at your place?"

"What?"

"We're outside. I have a pregnant woman and 2 little kids with us and we really need your help."

Sam had the "WTF" expression on her face. She casually looked outside her window and indeed saw a rather large black Nissan 4x4 parked just outside the building.

Like any other normal person would do in such a situation, Sam simply closed the line. She was still at the window though.

She saw a woman with a strawberry blond hair exit the car from the driver's seat and look up right at her. She had seen the woman, once or twice, but she couldn't remember where…she said she was the BFC leader….oh yeah… Rangiku Matsumoto.

She saw how the woman dialed her number again.

"Fia and MJ are kidnapped along with other people. We're trying to find them but we have to be under the police's attention range. Please let us stay, they might be in danger but there are certain things I cant tell you on the phone. And Kate, the pregnant lady needs to pee, like real soon." She said, with pleading crystal blue eyes, looking up at Sam like a lost hungry puppy in the rain.

Usually, normal people would call the cops. But Narsilion knew this was serious just by the look in those sad, true blue, crystal blue honest eyes. She sighed heavily, wondering if she was doing the right thing.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE… LOOK MOM! NO TYPOES!**

When Narsilion closed the line again, Lilly-Anne was the epitome of Downcast. How would she tell her comrades, all sleeping in that big black Nissan The Don had rented for her two days prior, that Narsilion had refused. Maybe they had to call her prior to coming? But the call was probably going to be traced… And with caution in mind she had also temporarily bought a new card.

She turned back to the car to break the news.

"Hey, Miss Philips-whazzit?"

Lilly's eyes widened obnoxiously and she turned around to see the young _Revered_ female standing by the open front door of the building in her oversized light gray T-shirt that went all the way to her knees, that had a lovely comical cartoon on it- Mubi and Tobi in a self-shot, slightly skewed to the side picture ala photo. She had a par of cute pink bunny-rabbits slippers….with fake fluffy kunai sticking out of their heads and the XP expression on their bloodied faces.

Lilly was so happy, that a second later Sam was being suffocated by means of two large boobs, courtesy of the female Bleach Leader.

At 5:00 the group of renegade Cosplayer could be seen lying around Sam's place. And Sam was currently holding a sleepy Vincent, which , they had convinced her, was a future Mubi Cosplayer. Given that he kind of looked like a little Mubi, She instantly took a liking to the small boy with a Mubi plushie in a sleepy death grip.

"So, you're trying to tell me somebody is Kidnapping Cosplayers?"

They had been talking about their current situation, their finds and such.

"That is what we believe." Light said, yawning. " However it is only a theory, we might be wrong about the Misoshi person being a diversion."

"But how is it possible for people to disappear by a flash of light? Shouldn't people notice or something?" Sam asked, confusion apparent. "I mean they weren't kidnapped by aliens or anything, right?"

"We aren't even sure about that. The important thing is to find them as soon as possible, or half of us, including you, are going to jail."

"I didn't do anything!"

"How the hell do you think we had the money to make merchandize?"

"…"

"Point taken."

"Very well… Hm. You can stay, but I am not going to feed you."

"Thanks! And don't worry, we'll take up the expenses of your home, including food, for being here." Lilly said happily.

"With whose money?" Narsilion narrowed her eyes. They smiled nervously.

She was pretty mad about the mess she had been thrown into, but considering the situation, they were probably the best team to handle this… And Fia had spoken a lot about this Light fellow. And he was both cute and smart. And a Pein in the ass, according to MJ.

It was going to be crowded in her house and she just knew it!

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE….You inspired me to create the AFC project so 33% of the credit goes to your royal self, Nars : Much luff from a loyal fan!!**

Sylvia Bri was …well, not another ordinary woman. She had a styled shoulder-length hair, similar in a way to Sasuke's but not quite. With out the duck-butt part that is. Her eyes were like Elizabeth Taylor's- Purple, one of the things she really liked about herself.

Her skin was ghastly pale and it never seemed to catch any tan, or get sun burns, no matter how long she would stay in the sun when she had the chance to sunbathe. Because of her unusual complexion, and her general love of anime, she had become part of the Death Librarians. She was a member for almost two years and she was one of the more liked ones among the newbies. Light Yagami, the leader, real name Leo, as she had recently learned, had taken a liking to her for her exceptional tailoring skills. And she always carried a tailor's 'First Aid' kit to fix suddenly appeared flaws or cuts or something other on a costume. She was also an excellent cook.

There were a few things that summed up Miss Bri like nothing else did. First of all was, that she was 22 years old, she was 177, 8 cm tall and she was in what one could call acceptable level of fitness – healthy, but slim, not muscular.

Every person had their own likes and dislikes. Her favorite color was yellow, and despite popular belief she also liked playing RPGS and other such types of video games. She also loved sugar it its purest form. Her favorite music was soft, calming music. And when it came to cooking, sweet stuff was on the main list.

And then came blood and water. People say Blood is Thicker than water. Sylvia says Blood is the water of life. She had some kind of a fascination with blood. With it being the liquid of blood. And She loved water. She loved swimming by relation and as a result, she knew from a very early age she could not tan, for she lived at the public swimming pool during the summer.

She also loved the outdoors. She loved spending her time in the wilds, taking in the pine-smelling fresh moist air… she loved the solitude of it all.

Sylvia disliked loud sounds; that was obvious enough. And despite liking blood, she hated the color red. She also disliked Light. Simply because he had somewhat of a god complex and bothered her all the time to make him costumes among all other things and it got annoying after she sent him the third set of shirts, pants and generally Yagami Style clothing which, she was pretty sure of it, he wore in everyday life. Actually, she had no idea how right she was about it. He was also too flirty with that busty red-haired with orange tips woman, the Leader of the AFC. Not that she had anything against her, but she was too bossy to feel comfortable around her. People like that Itachi Cosplayer also got on her nerves. She was a snobby bitch. But being the peaceful person, seeker of inner peace and inner balance, she disliked confrontation, and she generally stood aside the Cos battles. She liked looking at the skits which used her costumes though, which was one of the reason she had joined the Death Librarians.

On a side note, she also disliked Light, because he killed L. And she was an L Cosplayer after all.

Sylvia was raised as an orphan til the age of 18, at which pont she had gone to college after earning a nice scholarship.

In elementary school, she had been mocked for being an orphan and had no friends that would actually stick by her when she would be in trouble. It took her most of elementary to learn about making clothes, and learn how to cook.

In middle school she was the most academic person, and everyone respected her, but she was not all that popular.Sylvia had at one point taken up piano lessons but she had quit because it was not for her taste. She could play a few tunes, however. About the age of 15 sshe had already set her gaze upon cooking and arts.

During High School she was a Valedictorian and a prom queen candidate. No one was surprised when she was voted as most likely to stay single forever. She Worked part time at a 4-star restaurant without the knowledge of the orphanage, and made sure not to get adopted- she was too used to being alone and fending for herself at that point.

Right now, Sylvia was a professional cook, with her own apartment. She was pretty proud with what she had done for herself. She was her own person and fresh out of college. She made a living out of making Cosplay costumes but she was seriously planning going to a good restaurant and start making a name for herself. Her sights were set straight to being a five-star cheff. It was going to be hard work and she had to make some sacrifices.

Right now this lovely heroine had just found out her trash can was full and was casually striding her way to the nearest trash can. It was night and she usually didn't leave her apartment after a certain hour. But she was a neat person and the garbage had to be taken out.

She was just outside the building. She looked cautiously around, as her neighborhood was not the safest place in the world. She sighed and slowly and quietly started to walk towards the trash can. She had a reason for that. Since recently, she had developed a bit of a phobia from street trash containers. A few months ago, as she was casually taking her trash out, in a night not unlike tonight's, and as she was about to drop the trash in the container, a person suddenly sprouted from it, yawning sleepily then grinning at her with a toothless smile. Several things happened. She threw the trash several meters into the air from fright. She screamed her lungs out. And she ran like a woman possessed and locked herself up in her apartment for two days in which she survived on her stack of canned beans.

After recovering (partially, mind you) from the initial fright, she had taken a serious liking to the idea of adding more locks to her door, which she did, buying a shot gun, a baseball bat and a few other things in the line of self protection. Including a book with the title "Awesome Karate- Self Defense for Dummies".

The book turned out to be a waste of money save for two or three tricks she found to be able to perform perfectly- a kick in the shins, a kick in the pack, and a kick in the chin. It was her little kick combo. She also had a hand combo of her own design- Bitch slap, Bitch slap, Kaching in the nose (upper cut) and again, a kick in the chin.

One would say that the kick in the chin was her signature move. Well… it is . Along with stabbing people in the jaw with whatever sharp she had. That was her signature move since 5th grade. She was not violent but she had to fend off the evil pre-preps, right? And she had an evil set of sharp, short nails.

Sylvia was a peaceful person with rare outbursts. Which were a bit panicky, because she never really wants to hurt people.

And so, back to her current doings. She was walking slowly, almost stealthily to the trash container. It was going to take just one swift swish and it was all over. And she prepared herself, she embraced herself emotionally to throw the damn garbage in the container and run for it in case there was another random toothless, homeless drunk person.

And as she was about to swish the trash, something strange happened. Suddenly, she felt incredibly heavy, as if the world had sat on her chest. Did she just receive a heart attack? It was so hard to even take a breath. It wasn't a heart attack, she lead a healthy life! What did she do? Bad Karma from previous life?

She noticed that she couldn't move. She was as still as a rock. And then she realized that this was no heart attack. She was scared as hell though, especially the world around her seemed to become more skewed and dim. There was a column of light about her and she nearly fainted. She just went out to take out the trash and now she was kidnapped by aliens!?

'HEEEEEEELP!' she screamed in her mind, as she was immovable in all senses of the world at the moment.

She began to feel stretched but she herself did seemed to be stretched. And then she blacked out for what seemed to be an eternity of pressure, pain, enormous weight, and being stretched and squished at the same time.

And all in the matter of two or three seconds. And then it was gone. And she was as she was- her hand ready to throw the trash, a determined expression on her face, almost like the spear throwing athletes on a world championship. Priceless.

The shock had some time to wear off though, as at first she did not register where she was. But it was dark and warm. And she as she finally noticed where she was, and by that unfreezed herself, someone spoke.

"Who are you?" the voice was sexy, calm, cold, with a purring evil undertone, a threatening voice.

Again, she took up the same position she was in, but this time looking directly at the location of the voice, her eyes wide with evident shock and fear. Like a deer caught by the headlights.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE…..bah.**

Orochimaru was casually eating his wondrous breakfast when suddenly he felt the literal pop of a presence in his own abode.

His ninja skills immediately acted up and he looked at the direction of the presence. What he saw was a pretty, almost as pale as him, black haired girl with purple eyes, holding a plastic bag of sorts.

He hated intruders but something was wrong with this one. She seemed frozen in shock or something, which was weird, considering her intricate pose. And then she breathed out heavily and that was his cue to speak.

"Who are you?" he asked in his coolest, by his own opinion, voice.

What she did next nearly got him off his chair and on the ground…because it was hilarious. At the sound of his voice she was immediately alert. But she had just relaxed herself when she suddenly resumed the pose he found her in, but this time she was looking straight at him, with a scared, shocked expression, purple eyes dramatically wide.

Even he, embodiment of all evil, could not help but snort and then start laughing. Soon his cold laughter quieted down and he then proceeded by staring at her, taking her features in detail. She had now taken a more calm, and normal, pose, black plastic bag still in hand.

"Who are you?" he repeated in Japanese.

Sylvia did the one thing any girl in her situation would do.

"_I was just taking out the trash, p-please don't hurt me!"_ She fearfully exclaimed in English, dropping the thankfully tied up bag (bad experiences teach) and holding up her arms in a protective manner.

The language she spoke was one he had never heard in his life. This sparked his interest. And how did she get here in the first place? She was obviously no ninja…was it possible….

He came closer to her , a bit more cautiously, and without killing intent. She was still very stressed but relaxed a bit from the change in the air.

She nearly hiccupped when he cupped her face with one pale hand to look at her. His golden slithed eyes were examining her with pure interest and slight fascination.

"Who are you?" he repeated slowly.

She blinked. Was this man…asking of her name? He looked like the Snake Sannin of the Naruto series… he was handsome but he seemed also to have a ruthless air around him… and it frightened her. He was like a Leopard and she was the baby impala the leopard was using to teach its cub how to hunt.

"Sy-Sylvia B-Bri." She said timidly, his hand still cupping her face. His palm was soft and warm, she noticed. And his fingers were very gently touching her face. She relaxed even a bit more, on a subconscious level. Wrong move around this guy, really.

He nodded. It seemed she was at least a bit smart, to have understood him, even if he spoke slowly.

"Orochimaru." He said then, raising his own chin in a dominant fashion.

She nodded.

He released his gentle grip on her face and in a hospitable fashion invited her to sit down. He then called a maid to bring her food and tea. She needed to see that he was her friend. Even if he wasn't.

While the maid was gone, she sat in the chair, looking about with morbid fascination and squirming in her chair. She had, somehow, ended up in Orochimaru's lair. Just peachy. And it had to happen right before her job interview too! And the old Pedo was trying to be friendly too. She wont bitch. She wasn't about to die. She liked her life the way it was.

And he was still staring at her, almost expectantly, as if waiting for her to tell him her life's story. The idea of the two of them gossiping and generally doing small talk like old women over a cup of tea sent shivers down her spine.

He noticed that and then tried to smile in a friendly manner. He said something slowly, which she could not catch. She should've taken up Japanese classes!

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE….*pantpant* Cliffhanger, bwuahahahaha!**

Misoshi Romero was what would become Jiraya's fourth great disciple in the arts of hentai, ecchi and other not so looked up to manly activities. But that was long way from now. And now was Misoshi's light athletics practice.

Misoshi, as stated earlier, was a 20 year old Asian dude with the unusual green eyes. He had shoulder-length black hair which he kept sleeked back. He was of a pale Asian complexion, which easily brought out his big green handsome and hypnotizing eyes. He was also well-built and slightly muscular, yet slender and attractive. Long face, distinctive cheekbones, tip-tilted nose, thin lips, doesn't have too much facial hair (except the chin)- these were the features that summed his physique in general.

Misoshi was intelligent, well-read, rational, yet idiotic at times (especially around girls). He liked to be alone from time to time but really enjoyed going out with friends and having fun. He loved his real friends but had no qualms about making new acquaintanceships. He was also extremely serious when it came to something he decided to do, be it connected with sports, studying, or something else. But he was generally quite easy-going because of his natural intelligence and wits. He was basically a down-to-earth person and didn't believe in the occult, magic, aliens, ghosts and the like. He was generally neutral and preferred to keep his mind to himself most of the time, yet used to be originally a hothead and when push was followed by shove he was not afraid to speak his mind or solve things in a physical manner. Misoshi was the type of person that would do anything for someone he considere a friend (except commit a crime). He wasn't fashion-conscious and had his own dressing style, usually including baggy clothes and sneakers but he wasn't shy about showing off his physique.

Being the casual flirt that he was he was also about Facebook and some other, local sites.

He had these things in his description:

**Likes**:  
Friday nights, chocolate and all kinds of sweets, girls, athletics and sports, dancing and going to discos, foreign languages, playing the guitar, having a beer from time to time, music as a whole but is particularly fond of electronic music, The Prodigy, meeting new people, sleeping in, romantic comedies, archaeology and history, going out on dates, the summer, conversing with people.

**Dislikes**:  
Horror movies, posers, gossiping, being too busy, would-be friends, fatty foods (fast food especially), having to do something without being informed about it first, party crashers, himself when he is drunk, drugs, heights, needles, arguing with people, being lied to, drawing.

Needless to say he was the young man he was today thanks to a few things that happened in his life, including his grandparents. First he was a top notch light athlete and also top notch college freshman. College marked another turning point in Misoshi's life. Having graduated high school and being admitted into college with flying colors, he was one of the most famous freshmen around. He also continued doing athletics and had no intention of giving it up any time soon. It was also in his freshman year that he rediscovered his passion for girls and began to date quite intensively, yet he never got committed. Now in his second year, he is still dead serious about school but, as usual, finds time to do sports, go out with friends (and occasionally "do some lovin' " ).

That summed up Misoshi in a tea spoon. And about his current way of life, well… he was having the time of his life.

Until yesterday.

As usual he had practice every Saturday at exactly 5 am till 12 am. It was intense training for experts and he was the only one in his group NOT preparing for the upcoming World Championship. His trainer deemed him mentally challenged when he outright refused to join in for the glory of Japan. OF course, that did not mean he was the best in the group and was a good example for the rest. And he made them train even harder to become better than him. He always felt very smug when the trainer would start yelling at the rest for being a bunch of sissies and how he, speaking of Misoshi of course, was merely keeping up his figure out of leisure desire. There was nothing more pumping that comparing one to an athletical genius with no real desire to be world champion. Misoshi savored the pursuits of the mind….and skirts.

Still, in order to understand why he was now in the delicate and intimate position of being between the shapely, lovely legs of a young female he did not know, in the middle of no where, on had to know two words- Woodsworth Siblings.

Speaking of them, they were the three Ultra Rich heirs to an incredibly rich but sadly deceased parents. Their names were, by order of age, Simon, Helen and Hannah.

Simon was a bitchy, snobby brat, who was sexy in his own, snobby spoiled way. And knowing how to kick butt added up to his ultra-protectiveness of his two younger sisters.

Simon was the exact copy of Hyuuga Neji. 'cept his eyes were very light gray color, and had pupils. In fact, all three of them were like the Hyuuga's golden trio.

Helen, second of age, was the shapely, bitchy, snobby teen with a sadistic kink in her veins. She was otherwise very Lara-Croft-ish. And shapely in the most sexy sense of the word.

Hannah was the only down to earth person of the three. She was quiet and kept to herself. In fact, for her 12 years of age she was extremely mature. She was a bookworm, an encyclopedic factologist, and a perfectionist. She disliked chaos, as much as her siblings.

Simon's favorite Naruto character was actually Tayuya. He was 17.

Helen's favorite character was Kakashi. And she often went into long and tedious half hearted cat fights with L-chan over him, usually ending with the agreement to share him.

Hannah was still too young and yet to really hit puberty. Still, her favorite character, and not in a romantic way, was Asuma. Whom she deeply admired for his teaching skills. Because of that, Hidan was her least favorite character.

To sum it up, they were on a long vacation in the French Alps. And while snowboarding something weird happened. An avalanche. And just as it was about to hit, something sucked them up in an already too familiar for the reader's fashion.

At the same time two more people had disappeared, Misoshi being one of them, and also being the only one thanking the heavens for his godly position. And so, despite the cold and not wearing anything to protect him form the snow, he stayed like that for about an hour, enjoying his favorite position.

This was Life!

_**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE…THE END OF CHAPPEH THIRTEEN!!!!**_

_And this was my LONGEST ever chapter. I Am quite happy with it . Many thanks to Narsilion for accepting the Cosplayers to crash. Check out her gallery in deviant art, she inspired me to write this. _

_Also, lots of thanks to MT749 for her interesting OC Sylvia Bri. She helped me a lot in the fight against the evil plot bunnies. In the end we won!_

_Also, I want to thank a dear friend of mine for his wonderful ecchi style male OC, who adds up a spicy portion of the adult humor this story will possess in the end._

_I hope that with further support, and reviewing, I will be able to finish the First part soon. And as, most of you would now find out, my goal is 1000 reviews! So help me out and I give out cookies, thanks and a spot for an OC for the most faithful of readers and reviewers!_

_Tata till next time, yours truly, Chaotic._


	14. Just a bunch of Alfa Bitches

**Chapter 14:**

**Suna's two new residents**

Charlie was still unconscious in the hospital. It had been three days since the ninja had found them and the Kazekage had only agreed to help them in exchange for Tifa becoming a Suna Nin. If a person survived like she did in the Desert, then that person was incredibly fit and with amazing levels of stamina and endurance in general.

Tifa knew that her training and generally being part of the Foreign Legion helped a lot. But her feats were nearly impossible, now that she thought about it. She should've been dead. Dragging a young girl in her early teens and a ton of heavy luggage which for some reason she had convinced herself would be needed was an incredible, impossible feat. Even for a person like her.

Currently she was waiting for the Kazekage to show him what she was capable. Now, speaking of the Kazekage…he was DAMN hot. In her kind of way hot. Ruggedy hot. It was a hot day in Suna, something usual. And Tifa had managed to gain a healthy, very dark tan. And with her light colored eyes and white hair she looked extremely exotic.

The Kazekage finally arrived, with an entourage of two ANBU, she guessed by their masks. Her own entourage consisted of her bag of weapons and a Jounin woman who was keeping a weary eye on her.

"You told me you had some kind of a weapon that would interest me."

"I God damn do." She spoke curse words as casually as saying the sun is in the sky, and the sky is blue. The Kazekage was already used to it, even if it was annoying. It was hard to teach her out if it anyways, spending probably half her life with men as rugged and scary as her.

While traveling with Charlie, Tifa had found out something very interesting. She had absolutely no bullets. How did she find out?

They were attacked by a bunch of thieves at the only oasis they came across. Charlie was unconscious since, having hit her head hard on the ground. As she had started showing off her sharpshooting prowess and the men were dead within minutes. You see, Tifa was aggressive in any sense of the world. She was like a Grizzly mother bear. Hence why she was merely trying to knock them out. When they hit Charlie, however, she lost it, wiping them out, all 25 of them, in less than 15 seconds with her twin Magnum Guns.

And that was when she found out her bullets were made of chakra. They were white, with blue and white whisps about them. She also found out there and then that she was immortal in a way similar to Hidan. It had taken her the kunai stuck in her heart to realize that.

Only she knew that so far, so she decided to keep it to herself as much as she could.

Back to the point. The Kazekage gave her a signal to start. Not millisecond later one (they were two, though) gun shot could be heard. The Kage had seen only a flash of blueish white twin bullets.

There was a smug, arrogant smirk playing on her lips, and there were two smoking holes in the heads of the two dummies she had as targets.

The Kazekage's eyes widened. She was so fast. And she wasn't even a ninja! Her chakra was by no means trained. And no wonder- she didn't need it. Whatever these weapons were, only she could use them, as any other ninja got no result despite the detailed explanation on how to shoot with a gun.

She was pretty damn good. And she would have been a threat to the village had it not been for the red haired girl that was being taken care of in the hospital. She was not in a coma by any means. Just unconscious. It was kind of strange.

This Tifa girl… she was so strange. She had a rather morbid sense of humor, but most of his ninja enjoyed her gory jokes. Probably because they've seen things like that. And her jokes were funny, because they were true. And they wouldn't be funny if they weren't true.

On with the story. The woman had no fear of anything. She glared at everything with a measuring looks. She was very intimidating and despite how exotic she looked, she could easily befit a Suna Kunoichi…. Or more like ninja, due to her scary character.

The Kazekage's mansion was close to the hospital, and that was why she was now living with him and his three kids. Temari and her hit it off almost immediately, Kankuro seemed scared of her, even if he did not show it (the Kazekage knew him too well) and Gaara…

He had absolutely no idea what was going about in that demon filled head of his. The moment they made eye contact, the temperature in the room had dropped by 70 degrees the least. It was a staring contest, which, in other circumstances, would have been extremely hilarious. The two were staring unblinkingly at each other and battling for dominance. At the end, Tifa merely smirked and blinked a few times, completely ignoring Gaara. He generally did the same. Their battle of dominance was going to be continued another time. For now, they were equals.

Having seen their extremely interesting reaction to each other, the Kazekage could not help but be even more intrigued by the exotic woman which now resided in his house. Despite all the intimidation, she possessed a strange type of handsomeness he had never seen before. It was both in her pose and physique, and it was in her beautiful stern light hazel eyes. He didn't even want to admit to himself that he felt attracted to her, the way a wolf was attracted to an alpha female. And that was what she was. One crazy scary bitch.

As she casually sat down on the chair on his right side, the left being taken by his only daughter, Temari, he could not help but notice how at ease she was. She had a brush with death and she was shaking it of like a soft spring breeze. He had not realized he was staring at her for whole 15 minutes in which she ate in complete and utter silence, perfectly content. Temari had casually poked Kankuro and then proceeded giving looks towards their father until Kankuro got the hint.

He had merely grinned deviously, and his father hadn't noticed, by the way, and then continued with his lunch. He liked the new chick even if she was a crazy scary bitch. And she was so far nice with him and Temari. His only real concern was that she would just randomly snap and kill them all…great… that made Gaara and her two things to be piss scared before going to sleep.

Their first lunch together was not as awkward, and the Kazekage's kids were not present. Which in Temari's and Kankuro's head was a sign that their father had purposely sent them training in the grounds furthest of home, in order to make them eat outside.

That lunch he had managed a casual small talk, in which he had learned only that she enjoyed the food cooked here and that the desert climate, despite being so harsh, was to her liking. She also expressed her hopes that Charlie would like the climate as well, as she had no one else but her here to take care of her.

Like every other Alpha female bitch, Tifa also had a mother hen side, as she constantly talked about how she was worried if Charlie would like this and that. If fact, the Kazekage was surprised that the kid wasn't even related to her by blood. And he also was quite satisfied to hear on a subconscious level that she would be the same for any child.

She also reminded him of his long late wife Karura. But only slightly.

Right now, it was right after her little show of gun slinging prowess that he had taken her to a private dinner, in order to learn more about her. Her choice of food, as usual, was practical and heavy on calories, which she easily burned. She also seemed slightly exhausted, for, as he found out, the bullets were made of condensed chakra balls. That also added up to her appetite.

"Nice little place, this one." She casually started, for the first time initiating an actual conversation between the two.

"Indeed, it is the best restaurant in Suna."

There was silence once again.

"I was hoping to discuss your future here in the village."

"I am all ears."

"You seem reliable but trusting you for now is out of the question. It is a possibility that you would use your unique abilities against Suna once Char-Lee is safe again."

Tifa promptly left her fork in her plate. He assumed she was traitorous.

"I am a woman of my honor…Kazekage-sama." She said slowly, and in a steely, cold voice. " I follow a strict Code of Honor, sir."

There was a small pause in which she drew her breath and started quoting, not for a moment breaking eye contact, with that stern glare of hers:

"**Legionnaire, you are a volunteer serving France with "Honor and Fidelity".**

"**Every legionnaire is your brother-in-arms, regardless of his nationality, race, or religion. You will demonstrate this by strict solidarity which must always unite members of the same family."**

"**Respect of traditions, devotion to your leaders, discipline and comradeship are your strengths, courage and loyalty your virtues."**

"**Proud of your status as Legionnaire, you display this in your uniform, which is always impeccable, your behavior always dignified but modest, your living quarters always clean."**

"**An elite soldier, you will train rigorously, you will maintain your weapon a****s your most precious possession; you are constantly concerned with your physical form."**

"**A mission is sacred, you will carry it out until the end respecting laws, customs of war, international conventions and, if necessary, at a risk of your life."**

"**In combat, you will act without passion and without hate, you will respect the vanquished enemy, you will never abandon your dead or wounded, nor surrender your arms."**

Wow. He had to admit to himself he was impressed. Every word she spoke came not only from her mouth, but from her heart and her soul. And she was not even ninja! It was obvious by the way she carried her stem. She was in no way subtle, but she was cunning, calculating, always prepared.

Her so called "code of honor" was almost the same as the code of the ninja. Only it was more virtuous than the way ninjas were. She was a sort of perfect soldier…

"Are you a Samurai of some sort?"

"No, I am a Corporal of the French Foreign Legion. This means I have served for 6 years in the Legion. And prior to that I have been a soldier for the most of my life."

"I see. You have gone rigorous training. Or so you appear. Still, once you start training as ninja all will be clear. As you have noticed I haven't asked any questions concerning where you come from. This… America and Europe you speak of are not continents that I am aware of. You are not lying but that does not mean I would be at ease with you about."

"Do as you wish. You are the Kazekage." She said curtly.

"Hn."

"As you may have guessed…my youngest son in a dangerous, and sadly, unstable weapon. With your appearance here however, you can turn into a valuable asset to our village. I am looking forward to your future service as one of our ninja." He smirked.

"The boy is like me. I don't see why he can not be as much a valuable asset as I am."

"You do not know him."

"He has my eyes behind all the hatred and blood thirst."

"I fail to see that. He is but a monster."

"And I am but a soldier."

With that the professional aspect of their conversation was finished. They were back to random small talk, a.k.a. Zero. And he had lost some brownie points in her eyes.

And of course, one had to add a few words about Charlie. She was in her own little world, speaking to a very sexy looking one tailed raccoon demon chick in the darkest parts of her brain. They were having a deep and thorough conversation, and by the looks of things, the little red head, had forgotten to wake up.

_**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**_

_And yet another chappie, inspired this time by Cat Power- Werewolf. Probably these two's theme song. And of course I couldn't help but spill the beans about Charlie! Read and review! And the OC bit is still up! Its my way of fighting the evil plot bunnies!_


	15. Trapped in a hospital?

**Chapter 15:**

**Back to Basics**

Medical examination day had come and gone with little to no problems – Fia had only tried to escape the facility 15 times and had screamed bloody murder for about 5 hours straight, until some genius realized she was much easier to handle when knocked out. It was later that day that the medical staff found out she hated needles. She could also pack quite the punch when provoked. Sadly, she was also extremely paranoid. And she was also extremely good at barricading herself when needed – she was yet to be examined.

"Fia, we know you are in there."

"No, I'm not!"

MJ face-palmed herself.

"Fia, you are being ridiculous! Get out of there now!"

Rose was still trying to make the paranoid blonde exit the restroom on the seventh floor of the hospital. 3 hours had passed since they had found her hiding in there.

"Urgh…." Came the exasperated sigh of the orange tipped red-headed Leader of the AFC. She adjusted her sunglasses. She had yet to receive permission to show off her Rinnengan eyes, not that she had discussed it that thoroughly with Pein.

"I give up!" she announced and slumped on a waiting roll's chair.

"Is she always like that?" Takeshiro asked. He had been with them during the whole ordeal, being their caretaker and all.

"There was this time we tried to hypnotize her…and well…ahem…paranoid Fia is paranoid." MJ said as a matter of factly.

Takeshiro did not say anything. He was thinking more of the lines of psychotic but since he was on a mission, being polite was his priority. He nodded with a fake understanding smile.

"She isn't crazy, she is just too paranoid over some things…" the black headed girl added, knowing too well that expression and seeing through it. "It's the sugar. If she had less energy to deal with, she would be normal. She is like this… some times she is even violent…"

The ninja was surprised he had been seen through. Then again it was not so surprising, seeing as these two girls were having the blonde to deal with on daily basis. True, she wasn't so bad most of the time, but some of her reactions were embarrassing or disturbing or just plain both. It was a puzzle for him how she had so much energy. She always slept restlessly, mumbling in her sleep, moaning, cringing, grimacing in all kinds of ways and trashing in her bed. And she usually ended up cocooned in her own bed covers and her blanket… Takeshiro subdued the urge to roll his eyes. If the three were strange, Fia was definitely the strangest of them all. Timid and at the same time head-first in everything, be it dangerous or not. She seemed afraid of everything and then again she seldom cared for her own being, having seen her brawling with MJ for the last spoon of chocolate for their 'pancakes'. The blonde was vicious like a wild animal, and she was energetic like a 4 year old on sugar. Then again maybe it was the sugar's fault… or her diet's fault. She constantly nibbled on something, sweet or not.

When they would start training he would make sure she ate properly. She also needed to lose weight in order to be fitter as a ninja. But something deep down inside him told him that physical training was going to be the least of his problems… especially if he had to deal with something like **this** on a daily basis. MJ and Rose had told him she was easy to get used to.

Takeshiro looked at the locked Men's restroom door. It was completely barricaded. How, he had no idea. And he also wondered how the hell he was going to explain to Leader-sama that he failed to complete his mission because the blonde bimbo had a fear of needles. In fact, he wondered how other ninja had not been sent for him yet, as he had to report HOURS ago. The girl was a royal pain in the ass. She was too creative for her own good and right now no one could enter or leave the men's restroom. Luckily she had no hostages. She was all alone in there.

Takeshiro sighed. Of all the places she could have chosen to hide, the men's restroom was the one he never thought of. And he was a god damn ANBU captain. It was embarrassing, especially because he had been beaten in a mind game of hide and seek by a little girl who wasn't even a ninja!

L-chan was watching the man contemplating and wondering what to do. She looked about. There were at least five medic Nins standing there, waiting for orders. Two more Medic Nins were trying to open the door. But it was impossible. Despite how frustrated she was, she couldn't help but smile. This whole idiotic situation reminded her of when she was staying at Doctor Keats' hospital for yet another minor plastic surgery to remove a few more crocodile scars. All was fine and dandy until some idiot of a medic had decided to tell the girl she was getting a local shot. Of all the things to have feared, she just had to have needles as her ultimate phobia. Fia also hated heights with a passion.

Instead of the restroom she was using now, back then she had barricaded herself in her own room. Of course, it had wide windows but they also had no ninja to bust through them. Here however the men's restroom was the perfect defense against the ninja and nothing short of blowing a hole in the wall was going to get her out of there.

After her previous attempts to run away, 15 to point out again, the hospital's security had blocked all of the exits, even the air vents. It was a matter of time before the blond was going to raise the white flag, but until then, it was probably going to take DAYS, knowing how stubborn she was.

Still, it was a brilliant move. L-chan was certain Takeshiro wouldn't have guessed it in a million years. Very sneaky and creative.

At least she wasn't in a stupid hospital gown like the first time something like this happened. And that time the only thing that had made her leave the 'fortress' was MJ' sexy doctor dad…

L-chan's eyes widened in realization.

"Eureka!" she exclaimed happily and victoriously and those around her, save MJ, looked at her weirdly.

"Well?" the black haired girl looked up at the now standing Rose.

"I know how to pry Fia out of there! There is no way in hell she would resist!"

"What is it?" Takeshiro asked, hope evident in his tired, slightly bloodshot from nerves eyes.

"MJ, remember last time this happened?"

"So this has happened before?" Takeshiro's question was ignored.

"Of course I do! She was running around butt naked with one of those ridiculous paper hospital gowns…" the girl suppressed a devious snicker.

"And?"

"The point is that MJ's dad finally came and said he would never forgive her…"

"Bwuahahahaha… ahem… err… he said he would never forgive her for being such a coward." And the black haired girl burst into a fir of laughter and then suddenly stopped and shivered, as if a bad thought suddenly occurred to her and she was trying to shake it away.

"And she went out because he had called her a coward?"

"Yes and no." was L-chan's cryptic answer. "Fia has a crush on MJ's dad from like, since forever. Can't blame her though." The red head snickered.

"Fia merely greatly admires my father because he saved her life!" MJ exclaimed indignantly, a scowl marring her face.

"Keep telling yourself that." L-chan mumbled. MJ did not hear it, but Takeshiro, being a ninja, did.

And , by again being the ninja he was, Takeshiro decided to take things in his own hands.

"Fia-chan, stop being such a coward! You are hurting my opinion of you! I thought you wanted to be a great ninja, but I guess I was wrong!" And the Oscar for leading male role goes to….

"No! You're married! And probably have a couple a kids too!"

The fuck? L-chan and MJ couldn't help but fall of their seats and roll on the floor laughing their asses off. Takeshiro's expression was priceless. Where were their cell-phones when you needed them? Probably still being studied by ninjas deep within a mastermind's lair.

In the mean time poor Takeshiro-'sempai' was wondering several things. First of all, how did she know he was married with kids? He was pretending being single, seeing their obvious adoration of good looking male physique, which was supposed to make his mission to find out more about them easier. In some ways it did. In others it made his life hell. Like shopping for female 'necessities'. He shuddered.

The two girls stopped laughing when they saw Takeshiro's scary, serious expression. His eyes were gleaming dangerously.

"How does she know I am married with kids?" he was letting off a lot of killer intent. All were quiet. Until MJ and L-chan looked at each other and were now howling with tears in their eyes, again laughing their asses on the floor. That really ticked Takeshiro, but he decided, for the last time, to be a bit more patient. When the laughter died down, L-chan started speaking.

"It was pretty easy to figure it out. You see, Sempai, you're hot. And hot men are either married or gay. At least those your age. So, in order to figure out whether you were gay or not…"

"…we asked you to come with us on a shopping spree…"

"…which we always do when a hot guy like yourself is willing to hang out with us."

Takeshiro was dumbstruck. The hell were they talking about?

"What?"

"Gay men know designers. Gay men like shopping sprees. And gay men help women choose tampons."

"You were practically counting the milliseconds until you had to go home. It was like, ultra obvious."

"And how would you know I have two kids."

"Only a guy who has kids can have the nerves to take up Fia's sugar highs. And you just informed us you have two kids. Plus, it was obvious. Any woman that you have would want a kid to keep you around."

The 'Duh' expression was on his face. Amazing deducting skills. These girls would make great spies. That, however, did not mean they could toy with him like that.

"And now HOW do we get her out of there?"

"Only Pein-sama can do that." L-chan said, holding back another laughing fit.

Leader? But why in the name of all the Kages would he ever agree to come to the hospital and actually get the bimbo out of the restroom? There was no way in hell that would…at this point Takeshiro realized he could use a Kage Bunshin with the Henge of Pein… but he needed his permission first.

"Excuse me for a while." With that Takeshiro poofed and disappeared.

"And we are back to basics." L-chan stated, snorted a bit, and sat leisurely on one of the chairs.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE… I R EVIL BWUAHAHAHAHA!**

When Takeshiro finally appeared… or rather had the nerve to appear in Pein's office that late afternoon, said Leader was wondering for a while how exactly to maim him for being so late. He had expected his report around as late as 10 am…not it 5pm!

"Why haven't you reported yet?" his tone was dangerous, killer intent lingering in the air about him. Pein had always been a stickler to reports, paper work and properly done missions.

"There have been several drawbacks…the Jessica girl and Rose were easy when it came to the medical examination. But we have failed to obtain the blonde. She has a severe fear of needles…" and Takeshiro proceeded to explain how his day, err... mission… had been so far. It felt nice to vent it all out, especially as a report.

"You are telling me that you, my best and most loyal ANBU Captain, has been outsmarted by a 17 year old blonde bimbo?" Pein said it more as a fact that a question.

Takeshiro was very embarrassed by it but still answered dutifully.

"Yes."

"And you have tried everything but demolishing the wall of the men's restroom?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing here then when your mission is not complete yet, then?" Pein's ringed grey eyes narrowed, the rain outside getting stronger.

Takeshiro suppressed the urge to gulp in fear.

"Rose said the only way to get her out of there was you to order her out."

Pein blinked. What?

"What?"

"Apparently the girl takes orders only from you." He stated. It was not a lie and it was better than to be the one to tell him the crazy blonde had a crush on him. Like he wanted to be minced just because he had been in some way disrespectful.

"I ..see…" a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "You are here to ask a permission to Henge as myself, am I correct?"

"Hai." Takeshiro nodded.

"Hm… I shall go there myself. I want to see this girl's creativeness myself. And then I shall see how to… handle her."

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE….*pant pant***

L-chan and MJ were talking casually on the topic of which type of swimsuits were "In" this year when suddenly two 'Poof!''s were heard. MJ blinked. L-chan might've blinked but her sunglasses had a mirror-like coating on the outside, hiding her eyes so there was no way one could know. Takeshiro had returned with Pein.

Everybody about started bowing, and not feeling their lives safe as they were sitting so leisurely, the two girls decided to give their respect as well and bowed. Pein seemed pissed. And Takeshiro was smug-looking. MJ mentally scowled. Bastard.

"Fiona, get out of there. You are not only being extremely ridiculous but also I am having second thoughts of leaving you alive after this tedious ordeal you've put Takeshiro through."

On the other side of the men's restroom door was Fia, holding a metal stick, or one of those things that kept up high the plastic med-packs. It had gotten quiet… real quiet… when she heard his voice, she did not answer. What if that was not Pein? Still… it was too quiet…it had to be him. And that meant she had to get out of there anyways. If it was only Takeshiro with a, let's say a Kage Bunshin, henged to look like Pein, then she was not supposed to know that. And if it really was Pein, then he was going to kill them.

She bit her lip. What was she going to do? They were going to stab her with icky needles. And she was hungry. She felt her ego and her pride severely hurt as she started swiftly to remove door after door from the only exit to the men's bathroom. She had thought about ditching this place and try get out through the small window on the other side of the barricaded door, but first, she had too big breasts, and second, she was on the seventh floor and she would have been caught.

MJ and L-chan looked at each other as they heard the sounds coming from the men's restroom. She was coming out.

Pein expected the girl to timidly appear before him. But when she got to the door itself, she opened it swiftly and made a dash for what he thought was the exit. He instinctively went to grab her, which had been her plan all along, by the way, and when he slid one arm around her waist in order to stop her, she did the one thing he never expected her to do.

After a few seconds of shock, which was evident in his widened ringed eyes, Pein realized that it was the girl's strong arms that were around his own waist. No one dared make a sound for his attempt to grab her had been turned into a returned hug. And that was the point in which he realised he had been outsmarted by a 17 year old blonde bimbo.

Now, on Pein's side, one had to say that he was not wearing his cloak as it had been left hanging on the back of his comfy chair. He was wearing a standard ninja outfit, which meant that Fia could feel the ripping muscles from underneath… and not to mention a few of his piercing thingies slash chakra emitters.

Of course, that also meant that he could feel how fit or whatever she was her body was. She had a questionable fitness, but she was not fat, he could feel she was mostly firm muscle mass and she had a pair of huge squishy breasts that were now pressed against his abdomen. She had quite the voluptuous body and he was one of the lucky few to have known this fact first hand.

On Fia's side, she had done the one thing she could think of in order to really get close to Pein – rocket tackle. She expected him to see through her move and poof out of her way, but what happened made her the happiest Fangirl in the universe. Pein had made a move to grab her. And in the milliseconds she had before he could have a firm grip on her waste, she spinned around and embraced his waist tightly, burrowing her face in his chest.

MJ had buried her face in her arms, too embarrassed to look up. She knew Fia was going to do something and she dared not look out of fear what she was going to see. Judging by the complete and utter silence, something was terribly wrong or embarrassing.

L-chan poked her.

"You can look up now." She was the first person to dare speak and break the silence. She had the comfort of knowing Pein wouldn't kill her since she was the only other person with Rinnengan, so it was obvious why she was also the only one who seemed to be completely at ease. Well, it was that, and the fact she was the Leader of the AFC and things like that were occurring on a daily basis. Well, not exactly but you get my point.

MJ uncovered her eyes and saw Fia and Pein hugging. Most people do a double take. MJ had to do a twelve take. When did they get that close. Then she saw how Fia looked up at Pein, smiling happily and innocently, and he was looking down at her, with confusion all over his face.

They guy had, obviously, been a 'glomp' virgin, meaning he had never been glomped before.

Also, Fia was 175 cm tall and Pein was 176.5 cm tall, but the way she had hugged him had made her bend down a little in order to do a glomp and not a normal hug. And that was why, had he noticed, Pein would've had a perfect view of her delicious looking back and backside a.k.a. bum. And also why she was looking all the way up to his face and he was looking down at her.

They released each other at the same time. She was still smiling happily, and cutely at him, and she was rocking back and forth on her heels.

"I'm ready to take a shot now." She stated happily.

Fia had just had a brush with death. And she was smiling at said death. And Pein finally recovered from his shock and was now glaring at her. But she kept on smiling. He sighed unaudibly. There was no getting heads with this girl. So he decided that killing her was not an option. She could be such a perfect spy… if only she could behave…

"Behave yourself." He told her simply and unemotionally, and left with a poof!

The rain started again. When Fia had hugged him he had been so shocked the rain had stopped.

And yes, Fia behaved herself, smiling all the way to the medical examination room. Everything took a total of 15 minutes. Including the simple needle that was required to draw a small amount of blood from her. Turned out she was completely healthy and she was given an OK sign to do heavy physical labour in the form of training.

But she did not complain. She kept on smiling happily and MJ and L-chan were sure she was going to be glowing like that for a whole week the least.

It was dinnertime when they managed to get back to their apartments. Again, they had gathered in L-chan's apartment and Fia was swiftly preparing a big meal for tonight. They had only had a small breakfast after all and her stomach especially was growling like a lion announcing his territorial possessions.

During dinner time they commented on today's interesting day, mainly L-chan and MJ explaining what exactly happened while she had barricaded herself in the men's restroom. They were laughing heartily about the whole ordeal.

"Fia, I think you've created another Urban Legend." L-chan then stated seriously.

"Believe it!" Fia exclaimed, doing the good guy pose with the thumbs up.

Meanwhile, in another part of Amegakure, Konan was looking strangely at Pein. He was acting a bit weirdly.

"Is something wrong, Nagato?"

"Everything is just fine."

Konan nodded but she knew there was something which he had possibly decided to spare out of embarrassment. Lucklily the people who had become witnesses to probably the most embarrassing moment in his life weren't as stupid as to start rambling what happened. People valued their lives…except maybe a certain blonde. She made quite the impression of herself and right now he was sure that there was so much more to these girls that he wondered how he was going to deal with them… maybe the rigorous training would help keep them under control.

If he only knew….


	16. Vulgar, but PEINfully true

**Chapter 16:**

**Evaluation of Ame's Golden Trio**

Takeshiro was doing his best to update the reports on the three strange girls. As far as he was concerned, they were nothing but a bundle of trouble. Well, only the blonde one was gnawing at his nerves. The redhead and the black-haired girl were quite normal if he could even use the word and even one of the three in the same sentence.

But whenever the blonde was up to something, the other two either pretended not to know anything or they helped her. And MJ would usually try to keep her in line by whacking her behind the head or kicking her in random places.

The ANBU captain sighed and massaged his temples. In his entire career he had never seen civilians like them. First it was like they found absolutely everything completely fascinating. Then they started to get used to it. And then they were acting as if they were in an amuzement park. Or something.

And every night was karaoke night. Sure, they were entertaining, but weren't they overdoing it? What were they trying to prove? And when they were alone they seemed more serious, worried, more mature. They always spoke in that weird language of theirs and it was impossible to understand them save for when they said a name he knew.

They were too content with the fact more than half of their possessions were still in the hands of his research team. What were those girls up to? Pein should've killed them when he had the chance… hmm… or rather, since he IS the leader, why not kill them right away?

Takeshiro wondered how long this "easy" mission would be. Pein had assigned him in the hopes of learning as much as possible about them. The leader had told him that when he first was face to face with the redhead, she had recognized him. And their outfits…everything about them was so outlandish, so different…alien…and yet the same. The ANBU captain was disturbed by that. And when you were around 30 and with his rank and profession….you don't get disturbed let alone bothered by anything. Their story had many loopholes.

But the three agreed to become Pein's lackeys almost immediately. And they didn't seem to be a threat – only extremely annoying, but that was it. Apart from his own opinion, though, these girls easily adapted to their new home and were very friendly, charismatic even.

This Romano Rose was, to put it bluntly, a person who was impossible to argue with. Had he not been a ninja he would've had a hard time understanding how her mind worked. She was an observer. She gathered facts and digested them and used them to her advantage. Most of the time she was quiet and smiled politely. When needed she gave her opinion and it seemed that the other two listened. The way this woman acted told him that she was very intelligent and educated. Of course, she had her moments of irregular behavior, granted she was friends with the blonde demon spawn.

As for her skills… it was hard to evaluate her from what he had seen for two weeks, one of which she had spent in captivity. She was obviously very fit and her sheer nature demanded respect. Rose was physically active and quick witted, and hard to decipher. She was of ninja material.

Takeshiro added all the useful information he could think about Romano Rose. He gave her file one last thorough look, in case he had missed something. His eyes lingered on her photo and Takeshiro allowed himself to have the liberty to wonder where could have such a woman spawned. The very air about her…and generally the three of them was completely different from anything he had seen. It was unnerving how they claimed to have come from a completely different culture and yet to be so accustomed to the local traditions and kinks.

Next in his hands was Jessica's file. Pale complexion, blue eyes, raven black straight silky hair. She was gentle, yet cold, almost like snow. He was sure she had suffered some form of loss due to her distant attitude towards people she did not know. She had a strict circle of friends and she liked to keep to herself. Any form of social activity she participated in was ignited by the blonde abomination…err, Fiona. The way she communicated with people made it clear to him she came from a wealthy household. He could also call her a snobbish and demanding girl, a perfectionist even. Her manners were perfect. In a way, Takeshiro made a connection between her and the red head. He wrote down his suspicions of the two's wealthy origins. It was just too obvious, and there were things, like their taste for luxury and their perfectly kept nails and hair, that couldn't be faked in any way.

Out of the three, MJ was with the most demanding taste, and never settled for anything less when it came to quality. There were many things, however, that Takeshiro could find out and understand about them. Despite the fact both Rose and Jessica came from wealthy families, there were some differences between them.

For example, the way they spoke. The three girls spoke in three completely different dialects. Rose's voice was silky, slightly deep and seductive. It was a calm and commanding voice that demanded immediate respect. She spoke with everyone as an equal, but he knew better, that voice spoke of her sheer natural dominance. And despite her glasses, he knew that whenever they chatted, she would gaze intently into his eyes, assessing fully his words and any meaning behind them. He wondered how deep her gaze could go…there were already rumors that Pein-sama could read minds, which made the ANBU captain all the more weary when he dealt with the woman.

MJ was completely different. Among the three she spoke the rarest. Her voice was like her, gentle, refreshing, like rain or softly falling snow. It was a soft, if a bit weak, but he was sure it was because she did not use it often. Unlike Rose, MJ's voice didn't need to be demanding – Keats Michael Jessica always got what she wanted. The girl was an introvert with a dark past. That was his guess. However, she was more than what she seemed to be. Despite her blaring aristocratic behavior, she also had a bit of a temper, and Takeshiro could easily give her the passive-aggressive tag. He hadn't seen her do the passive-aggressive act, but her blonde friend avoided making her angry at all costs, and when she did so, it was never anything serious.

MJ also seemed to share the blonde's morbid sense of humor. After all, he had seen how smug she was whenever the demon spawn would do something potentially dangerous or incredibly stupid. She seemed to enjoy seeing other people suffer to some level and Takeshiro's ninja gut feeling was telling him that she was not above being sarcastic or even cynic.

And another thing Takeshiro had noticed was how they tried to behave. For Rose and MJ it seemed to be easy, but every now and then the raven headed girl would randomly, in his eyes that is, whack, smack, kick, poke or pinch the blonde and would scold her quietly in their language. The blonde demon spawn would then precede with sulking or mock offence.

Obviously, MJ was keeping her in check. And Takeshiro had the distinct feeling he should be grateful to her for that.

Physically, MJ was as fit as any Kunoichi. She was very agile and her motions were fluid and graceful, like a cat's. That girl was obviously trained in the arts of Taijutsu. He wondered how good she was. In any case, molding her into a ninja was going to be the easiest, compared to the other two.

Her talent with the guitar was another thing that intrigues him. She did not seem the type to bear such arts in her heart. And her doodles, that he had found among her things spoke of a keen eye, the eye of the artist. He wondered how good would a finished piece of hers would be, if just a sketch was already a masterpiece.

Among the three, it was MJ that was the most mysterious. She reminded him of that Itachi Uchiha, the Clanslayer, who he had the chance to see on several occasions. In fact, the first time he saw the girl, subconsciously he thought it was that same Uchiha- they were so alike.

He added whatever he thought important in her file and checked it over. MJ was the youngest, but she also seemed to be the most mature. He double-checked her file and then apprehensively handled the last file and the current bane of his existence.

Takeshiro exhaled audibly and a painful grimace appeared on his face. Johnson Fiona was one sexy blonde he could live without. He mentally shuddered as he looked at her photo.

Tall, curvy blonde, with long, wavy and slightly curly golden locks. Beautiful bronze tan. Deep, vivid, azure sapphires for eyes. Thick lips and the most delicious body he had ever seen since the last edition of the Icha Icha series. That summed up the blonde's beautacious qualities.

But behind the looks of an angel was hidden the spawn of Satan. She was one naughty foxy little girl. Takeshiro frowned. She would make a nice kunoichi, but he felt sorry for any man who would try to woo her. That girl enjoyed toying with men's emotions… to some extent. She used men the way she pleased. The girl did not even have to be seductive- she did it all wig that cute innocent azure gaze, her pouting thick lips and that moany, pleading voice. Chills went down Takeshiro's spine. If Rose and MJ were beautiful, then Fia was an outstanding, unearthly beautiful.

It had taken him only a few hours, however, to get over his infatuation with her and realize just how devious her mind was.

And ever since that first day of his mission, he had vowed to himself to watch out for any move she made. He wanted to dub her a man-eater, but he couldn't. She toyed with men but she did not flirt in any way, nor display any type of indecency in such a way. She was merely, childishly, innocent… or pretended to be.

Takeshiro really did muse over the topic of Fia's psyche. He had to, really. After several days he finally came to the conclusion that there was a time in which she had truly, childishly, been innocent, but something had fundamentally screwed up her way of existence…not to mention how gluttonous and lazy she was. He had heard of the Akimichi clan who used food as part of their jutsu. It was a Konohan clan. He also knew well about the Nara clan, who were also Konohan clan, infamous for their laziness and their great tacticians. In fact, he was really proud of himself for scarring one Nara Shikaku's face.

The ANBU captain smiled smugly at the memory So much for being a genius. He missed the days in which ninja fights were just ninja fights. Today there was just too much corruption and politics and a ninja such as himself suffered from that's. And that was one of the main reasons why he joined Pein's cause.

He was getting off topic. Takeshiro shook his head and concentrated on the task at hand, no matter how much he disliked the blonde demon spawn. He needed a vacation. Maybe he could go somewhere with his wife and two kids…

It was one of those moments in which he really hated his job…

If he had to sum up Fia in a single sentence or phrase, he would go with : unstable and unpredictable.

At first sight she appeared to be a timid, cute and helpless girl. Amongst the three she was the least fit. She also seemed to be slightly chubby, but any self respecting ma would tell you they preferred women like her. And she wasn't fat or anything. She had an extra 10 kg that puffed her up a bit but did not ruin her figure. That also added up to the damsel in distress effect she had on men.

Of course, in his eyes, that was all a trick of the light. She was always munching on something sugary or on junk foods and he wondered whether she cared how much she spent and that her allowance could only handle this much. Still, she was either extremely hyper, or too lazy to even get out of bed. As MJ had told him on numerous occasions, Fia was not bipolar, she was either sugar high, or recuperating from her sugar high.

And with such gluttony she should've been the size of a well-fed cow by now. Only once he had heard, a slip of words by Rose he was sure, that her brain ate up all the extra calories. That unnerved him greatly. As a ninja he always looked underneath the underneath, and for him that little slip was very important. What kind of brain would eat up so much energy? A very active brain, of course, a smart brain.

His theory was getting more and more evidence by the minute. Her curious eyes soaked up everything like a sponge, evaluating it, refining it, and stacking it for later use. He mentally shivered as he remembered the glint in her eyes when she asked to see his weapons, kunai and shuriken.

At first glance, she was your typical blonde bimbo. But he knew better. He knew way better. And he knew that glint…the glint in the eyes of a mad scientist. He knew that glint well.

This was not common knowledge but back in the day, when he had yet to apply for ANBU, he was one of the ninja that worked occasionally with the traitor, Orochimaru, then still a member of Akatsuki.

It was only the other day, however, when the girl had managed to fool Pein into sharing a glomp with him (it was an interesting word he learned from them), that he finally realized they were dealing with an unstable, unpredictable, in her late puberty and with raging hormones, genius.

It was then that everything had clicked into place- the foxy grins, the friendly attitude, the occasional pranks, her observations that she always presented as the most obvious things in the world… everything.

If he hadn't been ANBU captain, he probably would've never realized it. In a way, he understood how her mind worked, to some extent, of course. As per usual, normal life was extremely boring for geniuses. And being the overconfident blonde that she was, she barely escaped from the trouble she caused. And she caused trouble to make everyday life interesting. That explained her defective 'common' sense of self-preservation.

The girl was also extremely resourceful. She possessed an incredible amount of encyclopedically correct knowledge and constantly made small comments on this and that. One time she was staring at the shrouded in rainy clouds sky when she simply said: "Some times the clouds are higher…other times they are less thick and way lower… but the rain is still the same."

Was it possible she saw the difference between real rain and Pein's Rain Jutsu?

After a few moments of contemplation he wrote down his suspicions of her suspected genius mind. He added a note to check her IQ.

To be honest, he mused, despite her supposed genius, he saw how close and high she regarded her friends. She seemed loyal to them and would sacrifice herself for them. That was what he learned of her while she spent a week at the interrogation building.

She would make a good ninja.

Takeshiro filled up her file and decided I was high time to go to bed, for tomorrow he was going to test them under the watchful gaze of the Leader.

In the end, everything was expected by the three. He only could hope he would remain relatively sane after this whole ordeal.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE…. The next morning!**

It was a wonderful morning in Ame. It had rained all night and right now the sky was clear of all clouds and the streets were shining from the morning sun's rays.

The air smelt fresh of the night's rain and it was damp and cold, but the rays of the sun were warm and bright. The birds were chirping and it was the cue for Fia to stretch in all possible directions, cracking every single joint in her body. Two azure sapphires for eyes blinked open and then the blonde raised herself in a sitting position.

The blonde yawned and then swiftly jumped off her bed. The first thing she did was to open up her windows to let the fresh air into her apartment. People say the day was reflected by the morning, and that particular morning Fia woke up happy, cheerful, in a content enough mood to start humming 'Ego' by Beyonce. In fact, soon enough her whole apartment was sounded by the girl's singing.

And it was only natural for the ninja she was sure were spying on her to have an early morning entertainment in the form of a capela singing. The girl kept singing while she fixed her bed and then proceeded cleaning up her apartment in general.

Of course, Fia was not the type to do any housework. It was MJ that usually scolded her every morning to at least do her bed and wash the dishes. It was the love bug that had bit her. Kind of obvious, really. Who wouldn't be like her when she had shared a godly glomp with the sexy ass Deva Path? And the Deva Path had a well defined six pack and had lovely muscles all over.

It was, however, dawn, which meant it was around 5:00 am. Now, she was usually woken up by MJ who would be banging at her bedroom door to feed them every morning. It wasn't that Fia wasn't a morning person. That wasn't the case at all. Fia would fall asleep without any problem at any hour of the day. She didn't have a natural Day/Night clock, given the fact she played computer games and usually had some really funky raiding schedules.

Funnily enough, that was a desired ninja quality, as Fia found out when, during yesterday's medical examination, she was asked whether ruining her day/nigh biological clock would take a toll on her. Medic-nin were surprised when she had proudly announced she had none.

Speaking of weird, Fia was now taking a long shower. After an hour long scrub and other hygienic needs being fulfilled, the blonde carefully chose her first training ninja attire.

A sport's bra and matching black ninja pants and sandals, plus the ninja accessories. And on top- her beloved orange jacket. She had gotten it two days prior from the dry-cleaners. Needless to say, that morning she had one more reason to be happy.

Today was a big day for her and her two comrades. Takeshiro- senpai had told them today they were going to start thir ninja training. He had been fairly serious about it, and she couldn't help but feel slightly apprehensive. She expected some form of revenge for all her pranks.

As she was doing her hair Chun-Li…err.. I mean Ten-Ten style, she vowed to herself to face his wrath like a true Johnson and then prank the living hell out of him like a true Naruto Cosplayer. And then she got off track and couldn't help but think about how amazing Pein was. Last night she had the most atrociously girly dream of the two of them preparing to marry and having a wonderful royal-princessy wedding. Fia blushed at the memory of the dream and giggled fangirlishly.

It was anyone's guess that Fia glowed with love. She didn't care whether it was a possible love or not. She was just happy by the feeling of it. And Konan? Fuck Konan! Fia was the real thing! Literally! And who would fall in love with the sisterly little miss Paper Cut when you had a Valkyrie like Fia in front of you?

And suddenly Fia was the magical girl who had to save the poor, charmed Prince Charming, a.k.a. Nagato and all his sexy paths of Pein, from the clutches of the evil Konan. The brave magical girl with ridiculously over ornamented pink, white and gold costume with an awesome witch's pointy hat of the same light pastel baby pink creamy color was overcoming amazing dangers and along the way she met with and was joined by cat girl MJ, queen of thugs L-chan, Robin Hood-like Hatorri and the rest of the AFC gang… and you get the point.

Fantastical, magical things fewl by her imagination and it was already 10:00 AM when MJ opened the door to her apartment. The blonde bimbo had a dreamy expression on her face, eyes were sparkling, and her mouth was slightly open and stilled in a smile. A small drool had found its way down her left corner of her mouth.

"Princess Fuun! Leave saving your spiky haired Prince Charming for another…err… time. Takeshiro is taking us out for breakfast."

Fia snapped out of it when MJ spoke to her. She then looked at the time and was surprised to see it was 10 AM already… she had spent 4 hours or so daydreaming…She was surprised how fast time flew and then something clicked within her…

"I want to write a book!"

"You always want to write a book…"

"And I do, I just need to publish them." The blonde grudgingly cut MJ before she had the chance to say something sarcastic.

"Really now."

Fia turned around to give MJ a "you don't want to start this" glare.

"We have to go, Takeshiro is waiting for us…" MJ found herself alone in the room. Sounds were, however, coming from the kitchen.

"He can wait. I don't want to risk not eating."

"What are you…"

MJ would have facepalmed. She should've glared. She sighed in defeat. Fia was already eating her second humongous 2 meat and cheese sandwich. The black haired girl gave the remaining three oversized sloppily made sandwiches a skeptical look.

"Mmmm! Sweet, sweet calories!" Fia exclaimed, several pieces of sandwich flying out of her overstuffed mouth.

"I won't care if you die from heart failiure at 30…" the black haired girl started.

Fia took a few large gulps of milk, directly from the carton, and swallowed her bite of sandwich.

"And in 50 years from now I'll be like "In Yo' Face! Ha!" the blonde pointed an accusing finger at MJ's nose, said girl making a disgusted grimace at the slimy, covered in meat gravy finger, at which Fia gloated even more evilly.

"How was Prince Charming last night?" Jessica switched the topic, obviously wanting the blonde NOT to touch her with her gravy covered hands.

What she got for an answer, however, was a dreamy sigh, not unlike the Disney Princesses, and batting of thick golden eyelashes. After quickly recuperating from the Disney induced trauma, MJ smiled smugly.

"How was the wedding?" she asked, actually joking about it, not really expecting an answer…she should've known better…

"First we went home. So he could ask father for my hand. It was funny because he said he had taken the jutsu from Oreo-chan…Which was a bit off the whole thing… but Dad's face was priceless, it owned everything funny I've ever seen! It was like that time when I had told him me and Light had eloped…hehe! He had started asking questions about his job, background and such and Spiky actually answered! And he wasn't looking smug or anything it was sooooooooooooo cute! Oh, oh! And when the wedding started you were there with Weasel-chan! And you had this preggie-weggie swollen belly!" The blonde squealed in a rapid fangirl fashion. " And Weasel-chan was so ultra protective of you and your baby… oh, and Konan was the Mad… I mean Maid of Honor…" Fia shivered." And I think in the end his hair turned black…creepy."

The blonde frowned in confusion.

"Uh-huh." It was all Jessica could say after such a mouthful from Fia. She got most of it though. And on a side note, Fia's dad had become extremely paranoid after that incident several years ago. It was funny as hell when he flew all the way from Europe to New York with his lawyer to break the marriage. It was considered one of Fia's greatest prank masterpieces, even if it was only intended as a small phone gag.

The blonde finally finished her sandwiches and the two headed out. MJ had noticed Fia was a ton more spacier than usual. She was also in a very lovey-dovey mood. It was not surprising, really, given the fact she shared a glomp with the sex god of her wet dreams. Heck, even she was going to be like that if she had done the same with Itachi. There was a pang of sadness when she thought about Itachi. It was two weeks and not a whiff of air had come from him. In fact, all they ever saw of anything Akatsuki was the Deva Path Pein, and L-chan had gotten a quick glimpse of Konan. And that was it.

One would think that the moment they had fallen into the Narutoverse, the cast of the manga would start raining about and they would run around catching them with butterfly nets. Even she, pessimist extraordinaire MJ, expected to see more of the cast, and not be handled by some random ninja. But beggars can't be choosers, now can they?

This had lead her to the thought that whatever had happened, they were here by accident. And MJ was afraid of voicing that thought. L-chan wanted them to return home as soon as they could, fearing the retaliation of this realm's god/deity figures.

Fia was merely hell bent on making babies with Pein. No surprise there. Now, being the cynic that she was, MJ had come to the conclusion that a part of Fia would always be a rapid fangirl, no matter what. And rapid Fangirls thought with their cunts instead of their heads. Vulgar, but PEINfully true. Such were the woes in the path of life of the Cynic.

_**LINELINELINELINELINE**_

_I think of ending this here and leaving the training session itself for a separate chapter. It's high time for me to update anyway. So, what do you think? Takeshiro obviously hates Fia, but there is no surprise… and he doesn't hate her in the "I KILL YOU" sense… he hates her attitude and the fact Pein forbade him to hurt them in any way. And what would happen during the training? And where are the other Akatsuki?_

_I hope you guys send me a lot of reviews! They are my only true fuel! That and some other things ^.^_

_So, ask away whatever questions you have about the plot or characters and I will answer to the best of my ability without giving away the truly most important part of the plot. There are so many things in my story that I fear I made it too complicated :D_

_Also check out __**fiarrella dot deviantart dot com**__ to see some drawings my sis did on my characters._


	17. CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP

**Chapter 17:**

**Trial**

"You're late."

MJ sighed. Takeshiro was unusually strict this morning. She had two guesses, both of which were plausible. Either he really wanted to get it back at Fia for the tampon incident, the soap incident, the panties incident…or even the tea cup incident… the black haired girl shuddered at the memory of the last one…It really was an accident and not a prank. Fia was just that clumsy…she wondered if his …manhood would ever fully recover after being soiled by so much hot tea…poor man…and his poor manhood. Still, Fia shouldn't have tried to help out. It was utterly inconsiderable of her. She practically threw herself across the table, showing off her mighty bust, and she was wearing a short skirt by the way, and with a handkerchief started 'helping' him.

Talk about awkward.

Her second guess was that his orders were to be nice to them while they got acquaintanced with their new surroundings. It was probably a tactic to win their trust, which obviously had failed as whatever they said were either insignificant half-truths or flat out girly chattery nonsense. And they were already good enough with lying, especially L-chan, it was impossible for any of their 'spies' to figure out who exactly they were.

On a side note- they shouldn't be so confident, I'm talking about ninja after all.

MJ mentally sighed. It was probably a mix of the two. And to top it off her blonde friend was smiling happily at him with that goofy foxy grin of hers. Couldn't she at least once NOT be annoying… oh wait… that's Fia we're talking about… she is constantly annoying.

If MJ were to express the amounts of stupidity Fia had achieved at that particular moment, she would've fallen to the ground, yelling obscenities at any deity she could think off. Even she, the snobbish rich girl, knew not to piss off a ninja. And with Fia it was probably either her reputation as unpredictable and unstable or her pride. And, believe me, Fia took pride in all of her qualities, even the bad ones like her gluttony and laziness, and turned them into something she bragged about. No wonder she was so overconfident. Maybe that was why she was friends with her – she just knew how to make people feel better about themselves or those around them… even if she had no idea how she did it or realized she did it. She was just like that – a spur of the moment stunt junkie with a Mad Scientist fluke. Or the other way around.

Back to reality.

"You are late." Takeshiro repeated harshly to them, mainly because Fia was enjoying a most intriguing… dead moth that was floating its way down a small stream of rain water by the side of the street.

The blonde ignored him, fascination evident on her face. Her deep azure sapphires for eyes tracked the path the moth had gone through… it made her think about important stuff…like cycle of life and how humanity came into all of this nature crap.

"Ne, Takeshiro-sempai." She started sweetly, completely ignoring the small amounts of killer intent directed straight at her. "It is a beautiful morning, don't you think?"

The blonde girl looked at him, that look of fascination still on her face, a gentle smile plastered on her lips. She seemed happy. And on a deeply subconscious level Takeshiro was creeped out. What the fuck was she scheming again? Was she aware of his plans?

On the outside he had his 'poker face' on. He was not about to look like a fool… not when Pein was watching his every move.

"Let's go. I need to do something before we go eating." He said coldly, no trace of the old, flirty friendly Takeshiro-Sempai.

L-chan looked at MJ. She hadn't said anything this whole time. One would wonder why. It was that time of the month and she was feeling particularly cranky that morning. It was obvious by how clenched her jaws were – she was stressed and did not want to show weakness… not today at least. And she didn't know what kind of herbal teas local women used for those type of pains… the ninja world had nearly no medicines… except for potions and herbs, and other natural ingredients, but that was it.

The three girls followed Takeshiro silently. Now, here is a little flashback from chapter 9:

_T-that's him!_ She thought,_ that's the ANBU who interrogated me!_

She still hadn't told MJ and L-chan this was the ANBU that was assigned to her. She didn't want them to tense up and to blow some of their cover. Unlike her, MJ and L-chan didn't have …or more like LACK a common self-preservation sense.

On the way to wherever they were going at some point she had started humming the song Hide and Seek by Namie Amuro. It wasn't a song she was particularly fond of, mainly because she didn't like the singer herself, but she liked the beats and the instrumental in general. But the real reason behind humming it was to try and warn MJ and L-chan of a probable trap that he might set up. Not that they needed additional warnings but she had the distinct feeling that they weren't going to go to breakfast anytime soon. This whole situation oddly reminded her of Team 7's ninja test. She guessed she just had to wait and see. Besides, why worry about what would happen later? She already had thought about it. She knew practically nothing about his skills and she had no chance of understanding how to fight a battle with him.

Genjutsu master? Stab self or bite self.

Ninjutsu? Hide.

Taijutsu? Let MJ handle it.

General ninja kick ass skills? They were screwed, he was ANBU. What was Pein thinking anyways? If they were to be his spies why train them? Why go through all this trouble anyways? Maybe he thought something was amiss about them? That was probably it. He could kill them. Maybe not L-chan- she also has the Rinnengan. Fia looked around her. She tried to indulge herself with her surroundings to keep herself from expressing her concern. If Takeshiro notices her anxiety, she would never live it down… neither would her pride and ego. On a deeper level, which she referred to as a semi-subconscious level, she continued to arrange all the things she was thinking about. And she was thinking about all the possibilities and their outcomes at the same time. Her plan was formed soon enough, without her even paying attention to what exactly was going on in her head, and yet fully aware at the same time. Even she couldn't explain it.

Still, whatever was going to be thrown at them, it was a situation in which they had null chances of winning. They could however, hold as long as possible. And for that to happen, they needed to know what Takeshiro was made of. She realized he may try to fool them many times. But they didn't really have a choice. Fia looked at MJ who was silently walking next to L-chan. She smiled at her. Fia had faith in MJ. If anyone had at least some kind of miniscule chance to kick Takeshiro's ass, it was MJ.

**Flashback**

"Ne, Takeshiro-sempai!"

"Hai, Fia-chan?"

"You are a ninja, right?"

"I told you a hundred times that I am, silly." He chuckled at her cute childish antics.

If this was some type of soap opera, or an Asian drama, or a Shojo anime or something, MJ would've gagged. But this was real life acting, and Fia was pretty good at being the main shojo protagonist of her own little fiasco. She wondered if Takeshiro was pretending to be the ideal mate of said shojo protagonist or something… the whole scene was just too damn perfect.

"I'm going to the ladies' room." MJ announced. Once she went there, she gagged.

"You have different ninja weapons, right?"

"That we do, Fia-chan."

"What kind of weapons do you use."

"All kinds of weapons, we sometimes improvise and even use whatever comes handy."

"Wow! Takeshiro-sempai! You are so amazing!" the blue glittering eyes sent electric pulses down Takeshiro's spine.

Then followed a long conversation about the different types of weapons and the three of them were finally allowed to go and choose something from a local weapon shop. It wasn't abnormal and the poor ANBU captain just wanted to get some rest before tomorrow's medical examination.

In the end, MJ got herself two beautiful sai and a normal Katana, even though her choice was actually a pretty good one, L-chan also took a Katana by MJ's advice and Fia stocked herself on smoke bombs, kunai, wires and other things she claimed to be 'awesome ninja stuffz'.

**End of flashback.**

That was three days ago. And all of them were fully packed on weapons and all their ninja equipment. MJ just wanted to get over with all of this. It was a bit nerve wrecking, especially when they had no ninja training. But she was a world champ when it came to martial arts and would make sure to kick some major ninja ass. Her weapons were secured and everything was in place. In any case, she knew she had to do her best – L-chan had a black belt, but hey, she had nothing on her, and Fia was a walking catastrophe waiting to happen…save for her ungodly throwing skills and her evil genius.

"We're here." Takeshiro dully announced. MJ really did prefer the previous Takeshiro. The way he acted now was unnerving. You couldn't distinguish which of his personalities was real or not. But MJ had the distinct feeling neither were. They had to be on their guard.

"Ne, Sempai? Why are we here?" Fia, obviously, asked. She was already scanning the area.

"You will be tested here. Your test will be survivability." He said, sending chills down their spines. L-chan gulped, MJ did not visibly react and Fia tried to laugh the feeling of unease off. She smiled apprehensively and scratched the back of her head. She was a coward. Why hide it? She was also stupid in the self-preservation area… ahem… anyways, back to the story.

"But Takeshiro-Seeeeeeempaaaaaaai!" Fia whined, yes, whined in protest. "We haven't eaten yet!"

"You would probably throw up, so there was no point in eating. You will eat afterwards, when you have been evaluated."

"Awwww. You are mean, Sempai-"

"Silence." Takeshiro did not raise his voice or anything. It was the KI that shut her up… or so he thought. Male dominance much?

MJ immediately tensed even more by the release of killer intent. L-chan made a few steps backwards. What was with this guy, anyway?

Fia gaped. First, there was surprise, then there was confusion…and then she scowled. MJ's eyes widened. In all of her life that she had spent with the hazardous blonde she had learned a thing or two about her- first of all, Fia had an Ego the size of Russia when it came to her skills. Second, she carried herself with the typical Johnson pride. Third, she preached for world peace and emancipation.

And Takeshiro had just pushed the third button.

With lightning speed MJ crashed into Fia and did a headlock around her mouth area. Takeshiro was surprised to see her move so fast- he hadn't expected it. He then saw MJ whisper something to Fia, at which the blonde bimbo nodded and grudgingly calmed down.

"Now _that _was extremely mean, Sempai." Was the only comment the blonde made towards his order. Her eyes told him all the obscenities she was projecting towards him in the form of mental cussing.

"Begin when you are ready. I will be standing right here. Your objective is to defeat me. Lose, and suffer the consequences." Harsh.

Takeshiro was too used being around ninja. He expected them to hide the second he gave them the signal to start. They simply looked at each other and calmly made their way to the bushes. Why hurry? He said he was going to stand right there, right? Takeshiro felt extremely irritated at their obvious abuse of his ninjahood and lack of respect.

They were going to pay for their insolence… pretty soon… especially if they failed his test.

Meanwhile, the three girls were bundled up behind an especially thick tree. They were discussing their options in English, not really whispering, but rather chatting quietly.

"MJ you take the offensive." Fia started." I suggest you change styles every few minutes or depending how the battle goes. You know the drill better than I do, anyways."

MJ rolled her eyes at Fia. It was irritating when Fia had raid mode going on. She was too used to bossing people around when it came to fights, even if she wasn't the raid leader.

"Fia, did anyone elect you leader recently?"

"Uh… no, why do you ask?" the blonde answered MJ, not really thinking about what she was trying to tell her.

MJ sighed frustratedly.

"Fia, shut up and let's be quick about it. I'm going in."

MJ promptly stood up and charged at Takeshiro, her sai at the ready. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. So much for team spirit and team work. Or is it?

"So that means we go with plan B?" L-chan asked.

"I guess so… I really wanted to avoid it…" Fia said, a frown on her pretty face.

"You want to avoid anything as long as it has you involved in physical activities." Rose sighed.

They both looked at MJ and Takeshiro.

As the black haired girl charged, the man easily parried with a kunai. He was so fast! But MJ was also fast, and she was agile as well. Ninja or not, she was determined not to let him win against her, one way, or another.

Metal clashed against metal as she skillfully twirled her sai to parry, slash and stab. The ANBU Captain was impressed with how well the girl handled his speed. Her style was what caught him unprepared. He had never seen anything like it. Every time she attacked, he pulled away, he dodged or parried it. The sai were in the hands of a true martial artist. They were like an extension to her arms. When he tried to return a blow she moved with him, not with his speed, but fast enough to move out of the way of his strike range.

She was smart and his guess that she would make a great kunoichi were correct. He decided to kick things up a notch and attack her. His sudden piercing move came as no surprise and she immediately pulled away.

Takeshiro realized she used a sort of hit and run tactic. His change to offensive merely made her stop for several milliseconds to reevaluate her attack pattern. Then she pulled away and took a good look at his stance.

If Takeshiro could brag about something, it was his fighting style. In the ninja world things like fighting styles were mostly kept absolutely secret. It was crucial if ninja wanted to be in shape to defeat their enemies and complete their missions.

MJ however, had spent the majority of her life studying martial arts, and back on earth such information was easily accessible. She recognized his stance immediately and quickly changed her own style to counter his. Her only advantage, as it was from the beginning, was her knowledge.

As Takeshiro was about to attack, he noticed that the girl had changed her initial stance the slightest bit. He, again, did not recognize it. He took it as a mistake on her side. He smirked at the opportunity to show her who's boss.

Takeshiro charged. Only a moment before he was about to slash her with his kunai, she rolled to the side, landing a surprising kick to the side of his torso. That almost took him off balance but he was quick to pull away.

He thought this was going to be another routine ass-kicking, but she had landed a hit. Now…now it was personal. And he was going to make her regret the day she ever thought about learning martial arts.

"Not bad for a little peasant." He said calmly, but MJ knew he was trying to intimidate her. It was common knowledge that men always tried to intimidate their opponents in order to make them lose concentration and make mistakes. MJ was a smart girl. She didn't win her titles as a world champion at martial arts by step dancing.

Takeshiro was impressed that she did not react. Kunoichi hated it when their opponent talked to them like that, no less a male. The girl had a fairly good head on her shoulders. For now.

Takeshiro charged at her again, now having his full attention on the girl. The other two were no match for him. Even that blonde devilspawn. Oh, he would have his revenge. Especially for the tea cup incident. After several clashes he realized that that minor change in her stance was because he changed his style. And as they were in the middle of a ninja clash he suddenly changed his style again.

He made a slashing move towards her throat at which she dropped to the ground and tried to do a ground round kick. He merely kicked her off, due to a small opening she had. She flew towards a tree on the other side of the training field. He expected her to crash heavily on one of the trees. On the moment of impact however, she seemed have rotated herself in time to bounce off the surface of the tree she landed on. Using the gathered momentum she charged at him. He did the same.

They almost collided, Takeshiro slashed at her with his kunai but instead of dodging as he expected her to do, she grabbed his hand and used it to propel herself in the air. In his mind, that was a stupid move. She had changed her style yet again, he guessed. But the new style left her open in the air… or so he thought.

The ANBU Captain threw the kunai he was holding at her with full force. And in the matter of seconds she was airborne, as he threw the Kunai, she did not blink. She merely smirked… and using one of her sai, she **hooked** the kunai to the blade and threw it to the side. There was no point attacking him with it, he would only get it back.

With a battle cry, as she landed, she sprung forward at him, and still using the same momentum, was able to land a single light scratch on his left forearm.

Takeshiro's eyes widened. How was it possible for her to land not only one, but TWO hits on him, ANBU Captain? Had he put his guard down? Was it possible that she knew how to counter attack his very own Taijutsu style? Pein was watching and he had told him he was not allowed to use Ninjutsu, it would be impossible for them to fight against him if he were, the leader had told him.

He expected her to know a bit Taijutsu, not excel at it, let alone three separate styles. This girl was a prodigy with what she did, and she wasn't even a ninja. She must've had some pretty good teachers.

Something metal and shiny whizzed by him and he pushed MJ away and did a backflip to get some distance. He looked at the direction from where the kunai had come and he saw L-chan standing there, looking all smug, and not wearing her glasses. It was the first time he had actually seen her Rinnengan… it was unnerving but he had more important things like a certain black haired hurricane of sai slashes to deal with.

The two were once more clutched into a ninja clash, this time even more vicious. Despite how well she held against him, Takeshiro could see she was getting tired rapidly. They had been fighting for well over 10 minutes now and he could guess her usual battles lasted for less than 3 or 4 minutes and were nothing like this. He could read it from her slightly frowning expression and the determination glinting in her crystal blue eyes.

Finally, seeing MJ fatigued, L-chan charged in, despite feeling a bit scared seeing how good he was. She hoped he wouldn't take her on the same level as MJ…what the hell was she thinking!? He was a ninja! Ninja played dirty.

The red haired woman had removed her glasses for safety reasons. She was trying her best to look as confident as possible, hoping he would fall for the bluff she was trying to pull off, as in her knowing how to use her doujutsu. She didn't know whether it was working, but at least she could use her katana well enough to give MJ a few moments of rest.

Both girls were fully aware he was toying with them. And both of them knew the chances of winning were extremely slim. But they also knew that by truly doing their best, they had a small chance of getting a lesser punishment for not defeating him.

"Your sword skills are, needless to say, pathetic." Takeshiro commented.

L-chan didn't have time to respond as he effortlessly held off against both of them. Fatigue was taking its toll on MJ.

Fia was nowhere in his sight. But she was in the sight of another, who watched carefully the battle. Pein was mildly curious to see what the blonde was doing.

Currently, he was on a branch right above her, and her being beneath a rather large tree. It was kind of pathetic not realizing she was being watched, but he figured she was, after all, no ninja. What she was doing, though, was intriguing.

The girl was using a kunai and shuriken as some type of handy tools. And quite skillfully too. And she was currently doing reverse engineering on several smoke bombs. And she seemed to have completely forgotten that she had to do a ninja evaluation test. She was even humming. The nerve this girl had… or stupidity…whatever it was, he knew he was going to see something completely unexpected.

If he hadn't been the almighty Leader of the Akatsuki, he would've sweat-dropped. She was sitting on a particularly large tree root, which seemed to be quite dead. The girl had even knocked on it a few timed to make sure it was a dead root. What the hell was she up to?

First of all, the girl had some pretty good knowledge on explosives, which was quite impressive for a civilian. Second, how the hell did she open the smoke bombs without igniting them? Chakra was used to seal them and she didn't even use any. Third, why was she hacking at the dead tree root with the kunai she was holding?

"Aha!" she exclaimed quietly in triumph, as she removed the bark and revealed the dry wooden scrap beneath it. She started scratching it off with the Kunai. Pein finally got an idea what she was up to. She was tampering with the substance used for the smoke bomb… but why tree bark and wood scraps?

Fia had spread out some kind of piece of paper (Pein suspected it to be a piece of toilet paper) and had poured the substance from the smoke bombs and the carefully picked out pieces of wood scrap she thought were most useful.

And then she started looking around with a thoughtful expression on her pretty face. When she looked up where he was, at which point he had moved to a different tree before she had noticed him, and then looked more carefully about the tree branches. Had she sensed him? There was no way…

"There!" she smirked mischievously and if he was anyone else and not who he was, he would've sighed in relief. She was looking at a bird nest which was pretty high up the tree.

Now, he had found out the girl was afraid of heights and if he was sure about what she planned to do, there was going to be plenty of hilarious moments in a few seconds.

Fia's eyes widened as she realized the bird's nest was just too high for her. Even a meter was too high for her…how was she going to get the nest and its contents? Maybe she could knock it down? Or harpoon it in some way with a kunai, tied to a string…

She sat like that for 5 minutes before coming to the conclusion there was no way possible for her to get to the nest because of how thick the lower branches were. She whimpered in defeat and then sighed heavily, visibly slumping.

Pein allowed himself a small smirk. That girl was just too expressive. He watched her as she took out a several rolls of wire and, also using her jacket, made some sort of harness. Seriously, where did that girl learn handy stuff like that? And she wasn't a ninja even. The blonde intrigued him in some way, mainly because he was sure that she had some sort of hidden agenda. And as the saying goes, it takes one to know one, and Tobi/Madara was pretty much like her… only that the Tobi personality was far more stupid than this girl. And she was so care-free… it was weird.

"Ok, Fiffie, my girl, you can do it. If Bear Grills did it, so can you. Remember what Tifa-chan told you, don't look down… think about your final goal."

Pein slightly gaped. Was she for real? Usually, he wouldn't react. But this was ridiculous. She was giving herself a prep-talk. And her voice was slightly whiny, obviously showing her fear but trying to sound brave at the same time… it was cute in a weird, funny way.

"Ok… uh… yeah! Let's do this, 'tebayo!"

With a final nod and a look of determination, she carefully threw a wired 3-fold kunai around a higher branch and then started carefully to pull herself up.

Pein was giving the girl a dark smirk. Pathetic. She was quivering like a leaf from fear, and yet she was slowly making progress. He only hoped he would see something spectacular for all of this stupidity he was witnessing. But as any self respecting man, he appreciated the fact she was wearing quite the tight uniform, and a sports' bra, to top it off. These were one of the good days of Pein, Leader of Akatsuki. He sure enjoyed seeing other in 'pein', including the mental torture this girl was going through to get that nest… for what ever reason…

Finally, what seemed to be forever for her, she rested on a secure looking branch, after giving it several good kicks to make sure it isn't a dead branch… sometimes branches sprouted leaves, but were dead branches, as it they were weak and could break at any moment, as it was with most old or big trees.

The girl did not look down at all, and instead looked up, to see how far she had to go… only 2 more meters and she was there. She hoped the owners of the nest wouldn't mind her intrusion…much. She smirked evilly. Fia was a well known critter exterminator, whether it was Azeroth, Outlands, Elemental Countries or the Real World. No critter was safe from her, except parrots and rats, but that was another story.

After yet again positioning a Kunai with wire around a higher branch, she made her way upwards, towards the nest…and then all hell and chaos broke loose.

Chirp, chirp, chirp…

"Oh, shit…." Was all she could say when a swarm of birds, Dusk Robins no less, started assaulting the blonde bimbo. She tried to swap the pesky little things away with one hand, while holding the wires with the other. She had grimaced, keeping her eyes tightly shut in case someone decided it was a good idea to pluck them out.

"Fucking bastards!" she squealed meekly as she was now dangerously swinging. Pein was really enjoying this. Ok, not really, but this was way more entertaining than assigning missions and doing paperwork, even if he would never admit it to anyone. Still, he found it somewhat hard to keep his poker face.

The commotion the girl caused had probably revealed her location to Takeshiro but the man was currently teaching the other two a lesson or two about ninja Taijutsu and they were having just as much hard time as the hapless lass, who was battling at least 30 small birds.

Now, things got interesting as he expected her to just give up and start whining as Takeshiro had witnessed on many occasions. While the girl was selfishly stubborn about childish things, pulling through what she was now was something unexpected. Several birds were plucking hairs from her previously perfectly groomed golden mane and now she looked like a deranged orange monkey on a tree.

She growled in frustration and with much difficulty pulled herself to her target, the nest. The bird assault was now the most vicious and from where she was now, she could see a dozen more nests about. No wonder she was attacked by so many Dusk Robins… If she had the time to think about it, she should've yelled that those bastards lived in Australia, not Japan but…oh well…

Fia clumsily made her way down the tree. The birds were still attacking and there were plenty of scratches obvious on all of the exposed skin, including her face. Several bird droppings could be seen, mainly on her hair and back. Now having what she needed, she had to figure out a way to get rid of the pesky little chicks that were plucking like mad at her perfect golden mane.

But there was just no escape… why did Lady Fate had to make something so simple… so harsh? She had to make it through… and with that in mind, she quickly covered herself and her precious work with her jacket and at that point Pein could only wonder why she used the damn nest… and for what purpose.

Soon she reemerged from her jacket and he could see she was clutching a modified version of the nest, whatever she had made in it. Pein had a glimpse of her face and he could see unshed tears, mostly from the stinging pein of the constant bird assault.

If Fia knew anything about birds, it was that they were extremely territorial, and that they would do anything for their young… including attacking an ANBU captain… and what she was planning to do was slightly modified by the factor of the newly found swarm she now had.

Pein noticed that she was holding the nest in one hand and three eggs in the other. He had no idea what she was going to do with the nest… but the egg part he had already figured out… what a nasty trick… the girl was surely unpredictable…

In the mean time MJ and L-chan, especially the latter, were covered with scraps and bruises from Takeshiro. There was no chance in hell for them to win… and why the hell wasn't Fia here yet? She should've been here long ago! They needed to keep him busy until she comes with whatever brilliant thing she mustered up for 20- 25 minutes… they could only hold on for 5 more minutes or so…

Takeshiro saw the girl coming at him as fast as he had never seen her run. And she was running for dear life too!

**Flashback**

"Cammon Hatorri! I wanna try!"

"No, Fia, this is a guy sport! You'll get squished!"

"But I wanna!!" The 14 year old blonde girl whined.

Her cousin Hatorri sighed in defeat and started explaining the basics of American Football... he hoped that the level of violence in this sport would make her stop whining after he taught her a few tricks.

**End of Flashback**

The blonde girl was running straight at him. Nest Bomb thingy in one hand and eggs in the other. Takeshiro knew her well enough, or so he thought, and he was sure she was going to throw something at him and then run off. And he prepared for that scenario. She, however, threw herself at him, using her awesome American Football training induced glomp skills, and stuck the nest, which had a bubble gum on its bottom, to the one place on his back which a man of his size couldn't reach. She was then pulled away from him by MJ.

Her brave move was not without a wound though, as Takeshiro's kunai was now promptly stuck in her left shoulder. She was grimacing in pain but she still had one more thing to do.

"In Yo Face!" She paused, despite the attacking birds, and with all the viciousness she could muster up, despite her wounds, she spat. "Bitch." And threw with her ungodly darts skill the three eggs.

Time seemed to slow down and L-chan threw herself just as selflessly to hold Takeshiro as much as it was needed. This was their only chance… they had to do it… they had to make it…

The eggs smashed into Takeshiro's face full force. They were not big, nor did it hurt him… but at the sight of the now dead three unborn chicks (which was a nasty surprise, even for Fia) the deadly swarm of Dusk Robins went truly berserk…and their attention was straight at Takeshiro.

**CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP**

"Oh, shit!" Not even an ANBU Captain could handle that kind of number of pesky little flying pests… and he could've used Ninjutsu, but he had to keep his eyes from being gauged out. The demonspawn had done it again… he felt as yet another part of his manly spirit was ripped away from his soul…

MJ quickly scratched against the nest bomb on his back with one sai, producing a few sparks. It was not over yet.

The moments that he had foolishly decided to toy with them were his downfall… he had underestimated them. And Pein was sure that after this humiliating incident… he would never do so twice…

As far as the nest bomb went… it wasn't a bomb at all…it was a… scorch device of sorts…

As soon as the sparks touched the toilet paper, it burst into flames, the flames then reached the modified smoke bomb substance… and a really powerful stream of bright flames and heat erupted from Takeshiro's back. Pein felt slight pity for the man.

He was at the mercy of the girls. And the birds.

After half an hour, he was tied up, on the ground, with a shitload of scratches, bruises and guano all over him. Fia was casually sitting on top of him and munching on a brightly colored sugar sticks, looking like a deranged orange monkey still… but in the calm after a victorious battle.

MJ was carefully tending L-chan's cuts and scratches. Fia was most wounded of the three but right now she decided to keep the kunai where it was so she wouldn't suffer blood loss. Despite the pain she was in, she was looking smug.

Finally, after what Pein deemed enough of a punishment for Takeshiro, he appeared before them, startling Fia, who being jumpy, managed to make another bruise on the man's heavily scorched back. L-chan and MJ were also quite surprised to see him.

The three of them stood up and did their best to show their respect.

"I see you did the impossible and defeated Takeshiro. He is an ANBU Captain." Pein stated casually, but seriously.

"I kind of figured he was ANBU, but Captain? How did he get that high?" Fia mumbled, not really watching her mouth. Pein narrowed his eyes at her, she obviously being a blunt blonde, and MJ quickly pulled on her ear.

"Careful! I'm low on HP!"

L-chan groaned.

"Keep that mouth of yours shut Fia! Be more respectful to your superiors, especially Leader-sama!" she patronized the girl.

"Sorry for being an idiot, Leader-sama!" Fia apologized in the most apologizeably cute fashion.

"You pass the test. As soon as all of you recover." He looked at Fia and Takeshiro especially, "You will start basic ninja training, with Takeshiro as your Sensei."

The three girls nodded.

"Impressive fighting skills… for a non-kunoichi. You need a lot of work and you need to work on your speed and accuracy." Pein looked at MJ sternly. She bowed her head slightly.

The Deva Path then turned towards L-chan.

"You are quite physically fit as well, but you lack the needed training for even a Genin. Still, that is easily redeemable via training."

"Hai, Leader-sama."

"And you." He turned to Fia, who visibly stiffened after nearly being caught staring dreamily at him (she was caught…sorry to break it to you, Feefs). The girl immediately regretted it as a new pang of pain went through her. "You are the most sorry excuse for a ninja-candidate I have ever seen."

The blonde was on the verge of breaking down into a crying fest, with the puppy dog eyes and quivering, pouty lips and the whole package of stuff.

"But! I have never seen anyone handle their own materials in such a way. And that trick with the eggs was an exceptional display of improvising. The smoke bombs… I do NOT want to know about it."

Fia nodded, feeling a bit better about herself. Pein just couldn't give a proper compliment.

He did however stare at Takeshiro's face for quite a while. The hell!?

"She did it!" Fia pointed at MJ when she noticed where exactly he was looking.

Pein raised a questioning eyebrow. Fia melted mentally at all the smexy display he was doing by just standing there in the field….

The Deva Path then returned to his usual state of Pro Poker Face look. He did not want to know WHY the black haired girl had plucked the man's manly eyebrows into a more slender and feminine version of their original selves…And what the hell did she use to pluck the eyebrows!?

If he wasn't so used to Konan's monthlies, he had no idea how he would've reacted. Still, they needed to go to the hospital… especially Takeshiro with his first degree burns on the back… where Fia had casually sat just minutes before.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**

Several hours later, all three girls were signed out of the hospital, their wounds were nothing serious. It was interesting to know that MJ could've sworn Fia's stabbed shoulder had become smaller, especially since she was the one to take out the kunai and bandage the wound.

The medics had praised her first aid skills. She was the daughter of two doctors after all. If she didn't know first aid, who would? And Fia's demented dissection attempt on squirrels and frogs did not count as first aid experience.

It was mid-afternoon and they were finally heading towards their favorite spot in town, the Karaoke restaurant.

"Ne, MJ! I feel so much better after taking that blissfully long shower in the hospital… there are no more droppings ruining my perfect hair…" The blonde suddenly stopped her random babbling and froze in her tracks gaping.

"Fia what are you...." MJ saw where she was staring… T-those… t-those were….

"Fuck you! Jashin damn you, you old money-grubber!" Hidan was yelling his lungs out at … you guessed it, Kakuzu.

Said old man was sporting a mighty fine throbbing vein on his left temple, but having such a nice cloth mask, it was impossible for it to be seen. Just a few more meters and he would be doing his own thing again… just few more meters till their report… which was slightly overdue, by the way, mainly because Kakuzu wanted to stop by and do a few bounty runs in the not so immediate area of their way back. And the reason for Hidan's obvious bitching was Kakuzu's undying love for money and all that was material. And because he was always the one who got it when the Leader got angry for Kakuzu's tardiness.

Three pretty female heads were staring at the duo. Fia had one thing in mind. Hidan was an albino… but he was just too damn hot and shirtless…and about that point she just started mentally drooling and not really having any coherent thoughts.

MJ, on the other hand, was really excited about seeing some new Akatsuki about. Maybe there still was a chance to meet with Itachi and…

"Fia, stop staring."

"I can't help it… he is shirtless…" Fia answered meekly to MJ.

"It's impolite."

"But shirtless men are practically offering themselves to innocent virgin maidens like myself to view them and …dream about it…"

"And what does 'it' is supposed to mean, like exactly?" MJ was irritated at Fia's opened perverseness…was she begging to be raped or something? Sheesh!

"No pants." L-chan answered casually, also inspecting the Zombie Twins with interest. They did not seem as tall as on TV… then again L-chan WAS 1.80 m.

MJ face palmed herself. She was surrounded by perverts. She sighed and looked up again only to see Fia dragging a startled looking L-chan towards the Zombie Duo… "That blonde idiot." She mumbled and went after them.

"I fucking had it with your sinful ways, Kakuzu, you greedy bastard!"

"Shut up, Hidan, or I'm ripping your head off. Again." And he was about to do so.

"Hi!"

Both men stopped arguing and turned to the owner of the voice. They seemed a bit confused, as before them stood a sexy blonde bimbo, in seemingly ninja looking clothes, but with no headband, along with a red head with sun glasses and a irritated looking pale, black haired girl. They didn't look local. Now, Kakuzu, being Kakuzu, would've glared at them. But the red head and the bimbo had two mighty fine pairs of…eyes, yes! Eyes! And he found himself staring at them.

She was standing there and smiling foxily at the two of them, being as cute as possible.

"Hi!" she repeated cheerfully.

They just stared.

She finally stopped smiling to intently and was now bearing a soft, cheeky smile, her deep azure sapphires for eyes staring at them with fascination.

"Uh… hi?" Hidan replied dumbfoundedly.

"Me and my girlfriends were going on our way to the Karaoke Restaurant and we just couldn't help but notice the two of you!" She started, sweetly of course. "And I was like, lets go and meet them! They have bad ass cloaks with big ass neckbands and cool design and all!..."

She kept on babbling like that for a while. The Zombie Twins were still staring. Was this some kind of trick? At least Kakuzu was reasonable enough not to completely lose himself under the girls' charms. Hidan was flushed and was goofily smiling at them. Dolt.

"You don't seem local. Where do you come from?" Kakuzu asked.

"We're not from the Elemental countries and we have absolutely no idea how we ended so far from home but Leader-sama was kind enough to let us stay." The blonde bimbo sure was a bundle of cheerfulness.

Kakuzu nodded. He would know soon enough whether they were telling the truth or not. So far he didn't detect any deception.

"You're the only two people we've seen with the cloaks apart from Leader-sama." Finally, the black haired girl, identified as MJ, spoke calmly. She had a really soft voice, to Kakuzu's opinion, the type which rich girls had. And rich was a word that always ringed bells in his ears.

Generally while Hidan and the blonde bimbo, Fia, were goofily chatting, Kakuzu and Rose and MJ were having a nice pleasant conversation. And they were occasionally glancing at the two goof-tards that were now an efficient part of the background.

"Are you ninja?" Kakuzu asked, eyeing yet again their outfits. "You don't seem to have Hitai-ate's."

"We are training to become ninja. Hopefully we would do well." MJ smiled, remembering the condition in which Takeshiro was taken to the hospital.

"Hn."

"You seem to know your way about Ame."

"That we do." L-chan answered. "Leader-sama had given us a guide to show us about."

Kakuzu had the strange feeling from the way she talked about the guide. The way she said the word… did something happen to him.

"A ninja guide? Not uncommon for a ninja village."

"Aye, he was a ninja."

"You shouldn't talk to strangers like that. It is extremely unadvisable." He finally stated, slightly frowning. After all, the majority of Pein's ninja were mostly missing nin, and some were not above raping.

"We know but our little bundle of happiness over there." L-chan casually pointed at Fia who was clinging at Hidan's arm and giggling like a school girl. "Lacks a common sense of self-preservation. Usually she isn't wrong about people, though."

Kakuzu eyed the blonde weirdly. She did not strike him as the type to be good with people's personalities. But come to think of it, she was pushing Hidan's right buttons. It was practically the first time in which he had seen him NOT swearing. Hell, he was flushed, but who wouldn't be when a blonde bimbo with that big a rack was practically rubbing it against your arm?

"I see." He finally spoke.

"So, what's it like?" MJ asked. "What's it like to be an elite ninja?"

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow.

"We figured that people with cloaks had to be some tough ninja, since you're the first ones we see with cloaks. And that is excluding the Leader, of course.

"You're observant."

"We're only women with good people skills." L-chan smiled politely. "And you two are pretty formidable compared to the other ninja we've seen around."

Kakuzu smirked under his mask. It was nice getting compliments from a sexy woman.

Finally, it was time to separate.

"It was nice meeting you guys! I'll see ya later, right Hidan-sempai? I really want to know more about Jashinism!"

After a few milliseconds of WTF moment, MJ sighed and shook her hair at Fia. Hidan was probably thinking she was an easy sacrifice… what a noob… not that Fia wasn't. She was even a bigger noob.

"Ne, Kakuzu-sempai!" said man turned to the blonde. "Keep up the good work being awesome!" she gave him Naruto trademark grin plus the good guy pose.

Kakuzu chuckled.

After final goodbyes, they went to their own doings.


	18. Charlie has awoken!

**Chapter 18:**

**Going wild on a burst of rage**

**A small puff just to make the point clear**

**It's not suppose to make me scared, only aware**

**So what would you choose now? Truth or dare?**

**A/N: This chapter will be from 1****st**** PoV mainly because it's the way I see it, with Tifanny narrating the whole chapter…here it goes!**

The sand storm had been going on for quite a few hours now and I had the feeling that I was back in Africa, during my first days in the French Foreign Legion. I liked sandstorms. They reminded me that no matter what we, humans, did, Mother Nature would still have the upper hand. It was a soothing feeling, even though I knew that such a storm could kill me in less than a blink of an eye. But it was only natural that I would die some day, it was part of the cycle of Mother Nature. Just like the rest of my comrades in the Legion, I did not fear death, for the death of a single being would mean saving the life of many. And with my philosophy in mind, I thought of Charlie, who was still deep asleep in the hospital. Then again… I was now immortal… I still had hard time to actually realize it fully…

We were all gathered in the living room, that late afternoon. It was as dark as the dead of the night and the lamps were turned on. It was so due to two main reasons. First of all, the raging sand storm had blocked all day light. It was both very cold and dark outside, not to mention the mind numbingly fast winds. It was what I referred to as a Sand Hurricane. This monstrous storm was like nothing I had experienced.

Second, all doors and windows were completely shut, not allowing any of the sand to enter. The Yondaime Kazekage was calmly doing his paper work, Kankuro was repairing some joint of a puppet limb. Temari seemed bored.

Of course, when I said all of us that 'all' excluded Gaara. As it was well known in the series, Gaara was still a cold-blooded monster, and he did not sleep. He had a room here in the Kazekage Mansion, but he seldom even came over the building, mainly when his father wanted to keep an eye on him. Today was no exception. He was outside, and I was sure that all of Sunagakure, save for my experienced self, thought Gaara was the one who caused this sand storm. But I knew better.

Only an experienced soldier who had seen many sand storms would know the difference. And I have been all over the world for my short 28 years of life. I have seen many sand storms. Back in the day, when I was in Iraq, I had the chance to experience a most unique phenomenon. I was not as lucky as I was now to have a shelter to hide from the sand. I was with my fellow troops, hiding as much as we could behind the tank, when suddenly, the storm hit us full force out of the blue. That day was the day in which three of my fellow soldiers died from hypothermia. Yes, that's right, hypothermia.

I still remembered the scent of that sand storm. It carried the salty essence of the sees from beyond the gulf. To this day, no one knew what exactly happened. We had been stranded for several hours, but it was all it took, to kill those furthest from the center of our clutched forms. Maybe I was lucky then, I do not know. But I do know that Gaara, despite carrying the Sand Demon, the Ichibi Tanuki, Shukaku, could not possibly create such storm.

It came to my mind that it was somewhat similar to the freak storm that occurred all those years ago. The air, even inside the Kazekage Mansion, had the distinct scent of the sea. I grimaced. I had researched once on the internet about such phenomena. All I came up with in the end was that sometimes, when a certain land is not protected by natural means from the harsh winds of the oceans, then these were under the mercy of said winds. No wonder why the air was filled with the distinct scent of sea water. It was not a pleasant reliving of my previous such experience. How were these people even alive in such harsh environment? It was beyond my comprehension why would anyone willingly choose to live in such conditions.

Even if I respected Mother Nature, for all her horrible beauty and eternity, I could not help but feel these fools pathetic. It was not that they were idiots. In fact, it may be me who was an imbecile. Again, that did not matter. These people knew how to survive here, and these people had given me a helping hand when I needed it. And for that reason, it did not matter whether I would like them or not. It was my duty to do my best to return the favor. I was honor-bound to them.

Temari looked at me questioningly. I believe that she misinterpreted my grimace, which was still on my face, by the way. It was usually the reason, anyways. I tend to glare a lot. It came with the profession and with my way of life. I did not know these people as well as I would have liked to, and I knew that until I did, they wouldn't see much of my brighter side. I was a difficult person to work with, that much I knew. I was a soldier of simple tasks and emotions. I disliked complicated social relationships mainly because people liked to lie for various reasons. I also disliked lies. I preferred to get straight to the point.

Maybe that was why I joined the AFC in the first place, or why I chose to make friends with that seemingly obnoxious blonde girl. She was so straightforward and she always smiled, even when it was hard to do so.

"Is anything wrong, Tifa-san?" Temari finally had the courage to ask me. As far as I was concerned, she just interrupted my thoughts, which resulted in a glare in her general direction.

For some reason, even Temari felt a bit intimidated by me. Maybe I was too rough for their liking, who knew? I was not in the mood for long explanations so I exhaled audibly. Why do I always have to even bother with these people? Back home they knew to stay away if they knew what was good for them. However, I was not in a foul mood and I was finally starting to feel comfortable in my new surroundings. I was still pretty edgy about Charlie and visited her regularly, but I was managing not to snap at Temari and Kankuro… not in front of their father, anyway.

"How long would this storm last?" I asked. It was a question that bugged me anyways and now I would kill two rabbits with one stone – I would get my question answered and then Temari would stop bugging me. I liked silence very much when I was in the mood for it.

"They usually clear by the morning." She answered.

"Hn." That meant I had to deal with them till morning. At least Kankuro was doing something productive. I would never call paperwork any form of productive. My gaze slowly made its way toward the Kazekage. He was working hard on whatever he was signing there. I suppressed a very undignifying snort at his expense. What an example of a male. No matter how bitchy he was, he was a good leader. I do notice the discipline with which his ninja worked. And why bitchy? Men do not whine or bitch the way we women do, even if I was not exactly the most feminine example of a female Homo Sapiens Recens. Men, however, had their own form of bitchyness, which, I dare say, was very similar to being grumpy. He was like me in some ways, though. He was roughed up by life and by position. His kids were a living testimony. I wondered if I would ever show my face to public if I had kids like his. They were so afraid to show weakness… they were afraid of him… and of Gaara, of course. But they seemed, especially Temari, who was the oldest, to long for their Father's love. He just couldn't give them any.

I had come up with several reasons for it. Either he really didn't care for them, which I highly doubted, or he was afraid of Gaara's wrath. Gaara was quite the misfortunate kid, and even though he deeply believed that he loved only himself, I was sure that his siblings would be the first ones to go missing if their father showed affection towards them.

It was a lose-lose situation, and Temari and Kankuro understood it.

My mind drifted back to Charlie. I hoped she would be well soon… and how was I supposed to tell her she was now stranded in a world that was deemed fictional? It was best to be straightforward about it. There was no avoiding it, especially since she would wake up to a couple of medic Nins. The poor girl would be startled. THEN she would go into silent hysteria. And Tifa had seen the fragile, gentle red head of an angel go into silent hysteria- it was an unpleasant experience. And she doesn't know Japanese, too!

There were going to be sleepless nights watching over her. The girl had the most horrible form of insomnia she had ever seen. Being in a new environment was a sure hell-way to sleep walk, talk or anything with a 'sleep' in front of it.

I looked at the Kazekage again. He seemed to be a nice man beneath all his bitching. Maybe I should try and be more nice to him? He grunted and scratched something on a paperwork violently. Maybe some other time. He seemed in a foul mood and I hate handling any type of moods that would involve me in some way.

I shook my head. That man was very stubborn. For a 40 year old man with three kids, he looked exactly like a bachelor. His beard was slightly unkempt, giving off a naturally rugged look. His eyes were always glaring, the same way I did but for different reasons. I did not like him. He was too much of a trouble for me and I would be better off helping out Gaara. He was going to be fifth anyways….

Speaking of which…WHEN exactly were we? If The Yondaime was still alive and before my very eyes that meant we were before the beginning of the show or at the very beginning. He often referred to me as his weapon… I should keep my eyes open.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**

Indeed, it was early morning when the Sand Storm finally calmed down. I had stayed downstairs, listening to the storm, remembering the sounds it made, forever imprinting them into my brain. Those would be the sounds I would most likely hear often enough… Temari and Kankuro had gone off to bed early last night. I did not feel like going to sleep as I was too tense with the storm to actually go to sleep.

I was still lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. The Kazekage had yet to finish the endless piles of paperwork. From time to time I looked at him throughout the night and was wondering how he had the mental strength to overcome these endless piles… it was a mystery to me how such a man was ever appointed Kazekage… but I realized that he had the will and the devotion to the profession even if some of his solutions… namely Gaara, of course, were more or less pathetically foolish.

Our silent interaction, which could be translated into 'we ignore each other but know the other is there' was not an unpleasant one… in fact, it was kind of…normal? ... Comfortable even. It was strange to me that I accepted his sole existence in the same room as me as non-threatening. By morning I started to drift slightly. The storm was calming when I finally dozed off.

I woke up several hours later by the sounds of Kankuro and Temari leaving the building to train with Baki. I felt a warm cloth over my body and when I sleepily looked at it I realized it was the Kazekage mantle. I was not one to show emotion and be disturbed by it. I felt sleepy still and decided to finish my doze down here in the living room. I felt comfortable and soon enough I found myself asleep yet again.

Later on I would muse about his mantle… I never guessed he was the type to play 'gentleman'. I dared not think any of it at the time but things were going to add up soon enough.

It was several hours past noon when I woke up. I felt slightly hungry and made my way toward the kitchen. I had the Kazekage mantle strapped around my shoulders. The cloth was quite warm and comfortable. And it was practical as well.

I went straight for the fridge and took out several ingredients to make myself a sandwich. I hadn't noticed but the Kazekage was there apparently, eating his lunch. He hadn't said anything but I felt his gaze on me. I turned around calmly to look at him. If he wanted to say something, he could have a go at it. It was a free world and he was the leader of this village of all people.

When I looked questioningly at him, he glared at me. I simply sat across him at the table and started eating my own sandwich. It was just as much as I would need. Usually he would keep his glare a few more seconds, but now he kept on glaring.

"Has something happened?" I asked caually, knowing full well something probably HAD happened and he was about to tell me… some people just liked adding up tension unneedingly.

"Char-Lee has woken up." He started, his tone was something that I hated, though. "She caused quite the trouble at the hospital…the medic nin had to sedate her."

"Did she speak?"

"No, she seemed to have gone into silent hysteria."

I sighed in relief.

"Shouldn't you be worried?"

"What exactly did she do?"

"She woke up with a start, according to the medic nin that was examining her vitals. When she saw him she backed up and started…or attempted to speak… she seemed extremely distressed."

I nodded. Even though his patronizing tone was annoying to say the least, I had gotten the information I needed. No silent hysteria here.

"She hadn't gone through silent hysteria, Kazekage-sama. She is fine."

"She hasn't spoken yet." He frowned at me.

"She has a psychological condition. She can speak and yet she cannot. She is also an insomniac. You are lucky she had actually woken up… usually she is very violent when sleep walking."

The Kazekage raised an eyebrow. I guess I should've told him that earlier…but it was not as if it mattered… The most important thing was that she was ok and awake. I had to go and see her, though.

"May I go and see her, Kazekage-sama?"

"About time you asked that. She will be here in less than 30 minutes."

"She has been signed out?"

"No, but I ordered the medics to move her here. She would feel safer if you were constantly around."

"That she will." I nodded at his statement.

And not only that- Charlie was an extremely heavy case of insomnia. She would sleep walk, sleep talk…sleep- anything in fact. And the girl was lucky to be with me. I had experience handling her when we went to Cons. We usually shared a room, and she never made it pass the door sleep walking- I was too much f a light sleeper… I still have a bite mark from where she bit me when I tried to subdue her once… she has sharp teeth.

"I wonder…" the Kazekage started quietly.

"Hn?"

"I had noticed the girl shares nearly the same appearance as Gaara…"

"That might merely be a coincidence. Where we come from such hair color and eye color are quite common. Well… not as much as it used to be, but still."

"And what about her… condition?"

"Her parents died when she was young. She never got over it I guess. Due to the stress and guilt she fails to speak. It is as if her vocal cords are sealed of sorts."

"I was talking about the so called insomnia. Gaara never sleeps."

"She has night terrors. And she is an insomniac because of her parents' death as well."

"Too much similarity. I think you are hiding something."

"As I told you earlier, it is not in my interest. While I can hold off my own, Charlie is a far too different case. She is very fragile and gentle, and an extremely loving person. You would see that for yourself soon enough."

He narrowed his eyes at me. At first, it had been extremely hard to convince him not to kill us. Now, it was extremely hard to convince him not to suspect Charlie of anything…without swearing. I do realize he is now my superior, but still… It was like I was back in the Legion. It was as if I had never taken a break for the Summer Con Season.

I sighed audibly and glared at him. Why did he have to make things complicated? I told him as much as he needed to know and more would be too much. But I think this had something to do with his nature and his position. Cute. No, seriously, it was cute how he tried to show his dominance over me. What a phailkage… as Fia would've said.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**

**Do you guys like it? I tried my best to portray the way Tifa thought. She is quite the character and an extremely difficult person, but once you got over it, she is a great friend, as Charlie would later on say. Anyway, the story is finally progressing a bit faster and I think that we will see all of them together soon enough!**

**Tifa owns in many ways and I truly admire her. I just want to add that bits and pieces of her character are based on a real person that I know. :D I hope I would manage to write chapter 19 as soon as possible. Its hard since university has started and I need to study regularly to get good grades :D.**


	19. Sand Demons Meet

**Chapter 19:**

**Whirlwind of Sand!**

**Sand Demons meet!**

Charlie woke up to find herself in a dark gloomy, but yet warm and comfortable place. There were stone walls that made her wonder if they were stone at all- they were so smooth! The blood red haired girl looked about. Surely she would've remembered getting in this strange place…

"Wha-what was that?" a soft voice, Charlie's voice, whispered. She did not notice she had spoken. She had, however…heard something.

There was nothing interesting about her, all was the same. There was only the hall in which she was standing. Finally, after what seemed forever, she decided to go in one direction of the hall. At least she might get somewhere.

Her bare feet patted along the damp floor. She wondered where Tifa might be. She could sure use her amazing soldier and fighter skills.

Charlie was dressed in a white hospital gown. Her long straight blood red hair was loose. Her blue eyes were taking in her surrounding. She felt scared but not enough to show it. She was rarely the type to express her fears or worries.

Soon enough the corridor seemed to get a bit taller and wider and Charlie found herself at the entrance of a large, vast even, hall. What struck her the most was the form in the middle of the hall.

Charlie did not feel threatened by it. In fact…it seemed familiar… the girl got closer to it, confirming her suspicions.

It was her very own raccoon self, the one that she cosplayed as the SnJ Shukaku occasionally at Cons.

"Excuse me?"

Pale beige, sandy colored eyes, shot open. The iris was the form of a 4-pointed star. Just like Shukaku's. The said creature was a young woman, in her late teens. She was of petite form with blood red hair and strangely colored skin. It looked like sand. The woman was dressed in the typical Suna garment, similar to the way Gaara was in pre-Shippuuden. The woman's blood red hair was twice as long as Charlie's and was in an elven-looking style.

"Who…where…who am I?" the older girl asked in confusion. Panic seemed to spread across her face and Charlie was worried that she was going to hurt herself in her fright.

"I-it's ok! I'm Charlotte! And …err… I don't know who you are… and I don't think I know where we are." The young girl placed her hands on the older girl's shoulders and the Tanuki-girl seemed to relax. Charlie's soft hands were warm to the touch and the young teen found out that the woman in front of her also had an amazingly soft skin, despite how it looked like sand.

It was all so strange. Then it clicked to her that they might be in a place similar to Kyuubi's cell… only a lot less gloomy and damp.

Wait a sec…was she INSIDE herself? She could obviously feel the thin cold layer of water she was patting in… Charlie pinched herself. She was not one to swear but…what the fuck!?

Charlie went wide-eyed and took a better look about the vast dark hall. There was a cage with a seal in one far-off end but this Tanuki girl was not inside. Things were getting rather unreal at this point for her. Said Tanuki-girl stood up and also took a good look about her.

"Where do you think we are?" the Tanuki girl asked?

"Well…I'm not exactly sure…" Charlie's heart felt heavy. How was she supposed to tell her that she was inside her and she was not real… but she had to tell her. It wasn't fair. "You see… this place is …ugh… inside me… inside my soul, I think."

"Oh…"

It was kind of strange that she did not look appalled. It was as if she had told her tomorrow's bad weather.

"Urm…" Charlie was uncomfortable.

"Then…do you think you could remember who I am?" the Tanuki girl was so pure and innocent. Despite her inhumanly looks…and she had a fluffy Shukaku like tail and ears! She was like a newborn. Pure and untainted by the world…

Charlie realized she was the first thing she ever saw. And it was so strange… she had to tell her everything …and probably even teach her whatever she thought needed. This was going to be some hard work.

Charlie was just too kind-hearted sometimes. Just like the newly created bijuu.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**

"So…I am a demon…"the Tanuki-girl finished softly.

"I think so."

"Then… if I am not supposed to be here…and…this is…ugh…." She was at a loss for words.

"I'm not so sure myself how you are to be inside me… but I know that I will make sure to get you out. It's not that I don't like you… you need your freedom."

The young woman nodded.

"You should wake up now, then….and urm… will I see you again?" she seemed worried.

Charlie didn't answer. She bit her lip. What if she wasn't able to contact her again? What would happen when she wakes up? She felt insecure but she knew she had to wake up so Tifa wouldn't worry. And Tifa was the epitome of a hen mother of the most vicious type.

"I should go now… I will try anything I can come up with to contact you."

"I'll see you later, then." The Tanuki girl smiled at the younger girl.

"Yeah."

Charlie opened her eyes. She was in a hospital room, knowing the surroundings too well for her liking. She swiftly stood up from the bed and carefully snatched off all the devices and needles she had on. Her expression was one of disdain. She hated hospitals with a passion. OF course, all the machinery about her started to emit sounds. Now she was irritated.

To add a very interesting fact, Charlie's psychological muteness was caused by her guilt and a few other things. She was so used to not talking she only did so in her own mindscape or when she was asleep or sleepwalking/everything. She had realized she was speaking aloud when she met the Tanuki-girl because, lets face it, you cannot mute your own mind when you ARE in your own mind.

The red head looked about. The noise was making her irritated. She wanted to leave. Now. The small frown quickly turned into death glare. She was about to exit the room when the door opened and revealed a tall, tanned man, wearing white medic clothes and what seemed to be a Hitai-ate. Charlie glared at the medic. She hated hospitals and any sort of medics with a passion.

She stood still for a moment, assessing her situation. Sunan Hitai-ate, hospital, medic. Sunagakure's hospital? Bingo. This had to be a medic nin. Charlie glared even more. Now she had an even slimmer chance of escape and no way in hell to blame it on her insomnia. Those people were trained to see underneath the underneath. Just great. That did not mean she won't make a wild dash for the door.

Usually gentle and loving, Charlie turned 180 when it came to hospitals. It was again part of her psychological state – she hated medics because they had failed to save her parents. And even a medical ninja was not safe from her dark wrath.

She took another look about and then made a dash for the door. The medic nin caught her but she was kicking and attempting to scream which he noted in his mind for the report he was to make. He thought she was in silent hysteria. She wasn't. She was just desperate to leave and/ or hurt him.

Finally, as he called for the other medics, she was sedated and was unconscious again… the red head saw the Tanuki girl again.

"Did you forget anything?" the demon asked politely. She had a worried look on her face.

"They sedated me." Charlie stated softly. There was no helping it.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No. Medics usually do that when I trash. I don't like hospitals."

"Oh. When will you wake up again?"

"In a few hours, I guess."

"Why do you fight them when you know you will end up unconscious again?"

"I just don't like hospitals…or medics." There was a stern note in her soft voice. A small hurt frown had appeared on her face.

"Then I don't like hospitals either. They make you sad." The Tanuki Girl also frowned.

The two of them stood like that for a while. Charlie sighed and yet again looked around. She wanted to use her time down here…or wherever it was… to try and figure out how to contact this bijuu from the outside. Not that she had attempted in the 10 minutes of waking time she had…

When Charlie moved towards the gates with the seal, the Tanuki-Girl followed, like a lost puppy. She looked like one too… a more Tanuki-ish version that is. It was an interesting fact that she had two sets of ears- one elfin and one Tanuki. She had what seemed to be black smoke mascara and glowing blue swirly markings all over her body. They made quite the pretty patterns around the smoky mascara area, like extra lashes. Her nails were long and sharp. Her Tail was fluffy and sand dripped from it. It was like Shukaku's tail, but far more feminine. Sand seemed to magically drip and disappear from her. Still… despite how unreal she was… she was actually one VERY lost puppy.

"Is that the seal that keeps me here?" she asked Charlie.

"No… It should though. But you're not in the cage."

"Then I can leave on my own."

"I don't know if you can exactly. I don't know how it works…" Charlie said sadly. There were two things on her mind- first, would she die if she removed the useless seal? And second- if the Tanuki girl left her somehow, would the energy surge kill her? She liked being alive, despite all the horrible things in her life. She, after all, had an uncle and great friends (and club AND fans) that loved her and she was not about to go Emo because some one killed her parents… at least that was part of her very long self-prep talk.

"Time will tell." The demon smiled gently. She was the patient type, similar to Charlie.

Charlie examined the seal. Sure she had no idea what it meant but it was different from the Kyuubi seal. How she knew? Well, to begin with, she was friends with Fia. And Fia was a diehard seal wanna-be-user. And she had the Kyuubi containing seal tattooed on her belly. It kind of stuck with her after seeing it so many times.

"Charlie-san! Look!"

The red head turned to see the Tanuki girl doing something weird with…sand. She was holding a sphere of dripping sand . She seemed excited about it.

"You know, Gaara's demon, Shukaku uses his sand to protect Gaara."

"Hai." She nodded, not really listening. The Tanuki girl seemed fascinated by how easily and instinctively sand manipulation came to her.

"Maybe I can use it to protect you?" she finally looked at Charlie.

"Yeah…"

Sand moved as fluidly as water would. The two completely forgot about the seal and their problems as…well… what would be more awesome than playing with magical swirls of sand?

The several hours in which the sedative worked were spent in playing with sand manipulation.

Time passed and Charlie opened her eyes to find herself in new surrounding. She could still feel the energetic and yet soothing presence of the Tanuki girl. 'Hey?' she tried calling in her mind. At first she didn't expect to…well…anything to happen… not that she knew what would happen anyway… and then… slowly… she felt the presence growing stronger… she felt excited all of a sudden and then curious…then she felt as if the her entire world was so amazingly interesting.

Then Charlie understood. The link between her and the Tanuki girl so far was merely emotional. She hoped she could work on it in order to reach a better connection with her when awake.

"Charlie!" it was Tifa.

Her voice sounded relieved. She was sporting a healthy dark tan, from overstaying in the sun. She seemed to wear her hair in a slightly different fashion that her usual 'Hidan' one. Like she was trying to change her style slowly.

Charlie turned to Tifa and smiled at her.

"Are you all right?"

The red head nodded, while explaining to the Tanuki girl who Tifa was. A feeling of understanding swept through her.

Soon enough she found her spine being rearranged by Tifa's bear hug.

"Oh, sorry." She said nonchalantly, like she always did with her and let her go. She did stab her hard in the ribs with her hands. Not that she was strong enough to cause any damage.

"We are in Suna, dolly!" Tifa said quietly but excitedly. Her eyes were gleaming with morbid fascination. "You've been asleep for about a week and I've been made Suna's top weapon."

As per usual, Tifa was always to the point.

"Let's meet the Sand crew. We're gonna be living with them."

Living with Gaara and Kankuro and Temari? If she could talk, she would've squeed in joy. Gaara was her all time favorite character, along with Ron Weasley…She started jumping up and down, pulling on Tifa's arm and pointing at the door.

"Come on, puppet. First you get to meet the Kazekage."

Charlie's smile grew even wider! She got to meet Gaara in person! Yes! Now she could die happy. As they closed on the Kazekage's office in his mansion, Charlie began to sport a small blush on her face, making her pale freckles a bit more visible than usual. Her big blue eyes were looking about nervously.

"We're here."

Tifa knocked on the door twice. Charlie had noticed she always did that – when she was at an office or at a room of sorts, she always did two hard and well defined knocks on the door and then waited for 20 seconds before knocking again if she got no response. Charlie was fascinated by the Soldier-woman's strict way of life.

"Come in."

That voice did not sound like Gaara's, was the first thought in Charlie's head. Maybe his voice was not like in the anime? Still, it was familiar.

When Tifa opened the door, and when both of them quickly entered, the red head was surprised to see who was behind the desk- Yondaime Kazekage.

Confusion swiftly changed to apprehension and then to fear. That man worked with Orochimaru! What if they found out about the Tanuki girl?

Tifa placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok."

Charlie looked at Tifa and the calm expression on hr face. She always seemed so nonchalant…when in reality she was so strained by her own way of life. But there were different kinds of relaxed with her. She knew Tifa too well. When she said it was ok, then it was ok.

Charlie gave her a reassuring shy smile and turned to the Kazekage. She curtsied as a form of greeting and then nodded to him.

"I see she is finally awake." The Kazekage spoke directly to Tifa, as if Charlie was not there. The red head felt slightly hurt but knew not to react. Tifa's hand was still on her shoulder, which meant that she was ready to pull her out of harm's way if need be. She had to be as low as grass right now.

"And eager to look about." Tifa added. The red headed teen could never understand how this woman managed to make men like him seem insignificant in her presence. She was so… amazing in her own way. She wanted to be like her someday, steady on her ground, and respected by everyone for what she was.

The Kazekage finally shifted his gaze towards the younger of the two and narrowed his eyes until they were mere slits. The girl resembled Gaara too much and it unnerved him. She was in every aspect just like him, especially before Yashamaru's death. Who were they? It was a question that gnawed on him but experience had taught him to be patient. Tifa was a powerful warrior, and her amazing long-range abilities were nearly rivaling his own Kage level. The girl however seemed absolutely untrained. He doubted she would ever be able to become a shinobi, unless she possessed some kind of hidden ability that was so powerful there was no other way. He doubted that was the case. He was wrong, like he was wrong about many things.

"She is not shinobi material." He merely stated.

"She would make a good puppet master if trained. She is already skilled with her finger. She comes of a family of musicians."

"Why is that even relevant to puppetry?"

"She plays on a violin." Tifa's smirk was wide and slightly sadistic. That woman liked contradicting people, especially when she was right.

"A stringed instrument? If she is as good as you say there is still a chance for her. But I doubt that she would still be any good. I don't have time to waste nor resources."

Despite trying to look as neutral as possible, she could not help but slump slightly. She was not going to be a shinobi… and puppetry had always been one of the most fascinating parts of the Narutoverse.

The Fourth stood up from behind his desk and walked over to Charlie. Her breath slightly hitched when her crouched to be on the same eye level as her. She feared the man and he knew it. He smiled knowingly at her, at which Tifa Death Glared at him. The white-haired woman slightly squeezed Charlie's shoulder, ready to strike at the man if need be.

The Kazekage wondered what would happen if she and Gaara met. He would arrange this little experiment of his. He finally placed a finger under her chin and gently lifted it. Her skin was so pale and smooth, like a porcelain doll. And she seemed to have very feint freckles on her cheeks and across her nose. Her eyebrows were a very feint color, similar to Gaara's but not as feint as his. Her eyes were a light blue, pale color, while Gaara's were more aqua-green. They were still the same shape… and her hair… her hair was blood red, shiny silky. It was like Gaara's but much more smooth. He picked up a lock of it and examined it.

The girl was unmoving, and merely stared at him.

Finally, he was done, and he exhaled audibly. He stood straight again and looked calmly at Tifa, who was still sending imaginary daggers in his direction.

"Show her around the house and then join us for lunch. I want her to play her violin."

Despite herself, Charlie clicked with her tongue to get his attention. She signed to him in the sign language that the violin was not hers.

"The Violin belonged to her father." Tifa told the Kazekage who was now staring at the red haired girl as if he had discovered the fountain of youth.

"These seals are a her way of communication?"

"They're not seals but signs that she uses to speak to us." Tifa finally let go of Charlie's shoulder. "It's the universal language that people who are mute use. Do you use sign language as a form of communication?"

"Not like hers… it would be a useful tactic…" He rubbed his chin… still in his 'Eureka!' moment.

"Charlie and I can teach you the language. It's not that hard, since you already use seals."

The Fourth nodded, an ambitious gleam in his eyes.

"You are free to go for now. Remember about lunch."

Tifa nodded and led Charlie out of his office. The girl finally allowed herself to sigh in relief.

"Don't calm down yet, puppet. It's a long day ahead of you."

Charlie merely looked at her and then kept on walking along side her. If there was anyone to be stuck with in a fictional universe, Tifa would be a million times better. She just made her feel so secure.

The two of them visited the more important parts of the mansion, such as the bathrooms, Tifa's room, the living room, the kitchen and right now they were heading for the training grounds nearby. Kankuro and Temari were training there. Tifa had no idea where Gaara was, but she was glad he wasn't around. He was not someone to deal with, especially with Charlie around.

As they got to the training grounds, battle shouts and other sounds, those of battle, could be heard. Charlie slightly pulled on Tifa's hand. She was curious about what was going on there.

"Temari is probably practicing her Battle Fan katas. Baki usually trains them here, since its closest to the mansion."

Charlie was still waiting for a more detailed answer.

"Kankuro is probably sitting to the side and repairing/maintaining one of his puppets. I don't hear any of his 'battle sounds'." Tifa snorted.

Kankuro was a strong fighter. But when it came to him against Temari, the battle sounds involved were usually him and Temari cussing each other like five year olds would fight over a piece of candy and who found it first. They were like that when Gaara wasn't around. When Gaara was about, however, Baki was maintaining their other ninja skills, which were more subtle in their violence, in order not to provoke Gaara. And Gaara easily snapped.

So far Tifa was lucky when it came to Gaara. He had yet to blow his demented top. Relying on her keen memory and hearing, Tifa lead her ward to the training grounds and headed straight for Baki.

When Charlie saw Temari swinging her fan in the distance, she inaudibly gasped in fascination. The Sand Siblings were something of a specialty of hers when it came to Naruto. And seeing someone like Temari in real life was a big thing for her. True to Tifa's words, Kankuro was sitting close to Baki, maintaining a puppet arm. They were still pretty far away, Temari being the furthest of them by a long shot.

When the two of them got closer to Baki and Kankuro, the said puppeteer left his work and stood up to greet Tifa. He didn't want her on his bad side, considering he believed her to be as bad as Gaara. He had a friendly grin on his face but when he saw Charlie, he seemed to freeze to his spot. He just had to way to take her appearance it. He wondered if what he was seeing was even real. A girly looking Gaara? The thought alone made him double over inside and stiffen on the outside for the sake of his dear life.

"The Hell?"

His little WTF charade made Tifa sigh. She hated waiting.

"Kankuro, Baki-san. This is my ward Charlie. Charlie- meet Baki and Kankuro."

Charlie nodded to the both of them.

The sounds of violent whirlwinds stopped as Temari had noticed the newcomers.

"Tifa-san, konnichiwa." She greeted the white haired woman, who nodded in turn.

Temari also seemed to freeze in her spot at the sight of Charlie. She was more of the 'shock' freeze than Kankuro's 'WTF' freeze.

Finally, the red headed girl could get a closer look on them. Kankuro was of a bulky build and despite his attire and Kabuki Purple Pain, it was obvious that he resembled the Kazekage a lot. His black clothing was quite an interesting sight for her, as she had always wondered how it would look like for real.

Temari on the other hand was one healthy looking young woman with sandy blonde hair and aqua-blue-green eyes. Her skin was tanned but not much. Her clothing fit her battle style perfectly, at least to Charlie it seemed so.

"That's the girl you came with?"

Tifa nodded to Temari's question.

"She looks like Gaara."

Temari, like Tifa, was never one to shy away from speaking her mind.

"It's nice to have another girl in the mansion. Now it's three against three." The oldest Sibling joked.

Charlie smiled at her. She already felt close to her. Maybe Temari was a younger, and a subtler version of Tifa?

"We were just finishing training anyways. It's nearly time for lunch." Temari added as she fastened her fan on her back.

"We need to find Gaara. Kazekage-sama requested for him to come." Baki finally spoke.

He also seemed like Tifa in many ways. Were all sand ninja like her? Charlie could only wonder.

"Why bother? He comes and goes when he wants to and he always scares the living hell out of us…"

"Kankuro!"

"What? It's true!"

Temari sighed. She didn't bother hitting him in front of the guests, a. k. a. Tifa and Charlie.

"Kankuro, Temari. Take Tifa and Charlie. I will look for Gaara. You head for lunch."

In all honesty, for the time she had spent here, Tifa had noticed that among them all Baki was the one who seemed to handle Gaara the easiest. As Baki left to find Gaara, the other four headed for the mansion.

Tifa escorted Charlie to her room to get refreshed for lunch and then went to her own. When finally alone, Charlie sighed. What a day it turned out to be…. On second thought, what an experience, this whole Naruto ordeal. The red head looked about and found a new set of clothing for her. She had her stuff in the room, as she saw her luggage next to the wardrobe.

The set of clothes weren't hers but rather Sunan type of clothes. She took a quick shower and then she changed. She quickly braided her thick red hair into two braids and then headed for the dining room, clutching her father's violin.

She was all alone in the corridor and was busy looking out the windows to gaze at the strange sandy sight that was Suna when she nearly bumped into something…or more like somebody.

She didn't even have the chance to see who it was when a wall of sand sent her flying across the room. Her violin crashed violently onto the wall and broke into many small pieces.

Rather feeling horrified by the Killer Intent that Gaara was producing, she scurried to the broken pieces of her Father's violin. Her hands trembled as she handled the shiny wooden pieces…all those years of hiding it and now it was gone … just like that. Tears streamed down her face as the only thing that connected her to her father was now completely decimated.

'Why…why did he do this…' she mouthed, tears staining the floor. She didn't have to look at who its was to know it was Gaara of the Desert. The pain she felt in the back of her head, her back and her posterior was nothing compared to the sheer mental shock of having her most precious item being destroyed.

With hitched breath she slowly looked at him. And there he stood, watching her squirm in pain, waiting for the right moment to kill her.

Gaara of the Desert. He was as tall as she was, if even a bit taller. He was pale, but not as her. His hair was short and spiky and not as shiny as hers. He was a killing machine and she was a mere porcelain doll which he wanted to kill. But it was not his appearance but the swirls of sand that floated about was what made him look so horrifying.

His gaze narrowed at her trembling form…no… she was not trembling with fear… she was trembling with rage… he … how could he…

A horrible high pitched scream was heard throughout the whole area. With a crazed look, the doll charged at Gaara, determined to strike at him with all she had, even if that all consisted of her two feeble hands.

His sand threw her off once again and she fell hard on the ground. Despite the pain, she stood again, filled with primal rage, and made a B-line at him.

"Hn." He merely smirked as her doom was now sealed. He motioned with his hand for his sand to encase her. She was halfway covered in sand but she did not seemed scared. By now people usually begged him for mercy. She did not. She was too enraged to think about anything. Why had she reacted so to a simple broken instrument? He did not care nor would her ever. He wanted her dead.

Gaara started to close his hand into a fist, tightening his grip around the girl and trying to squeeze the life out of her. As the pressure started increasing, something happened that he expected the least- the sand literally exploded away from her, letting her exhausted body fall on its knees. Despite the fatigue, her dark determination was still the same. No matter how much of an all time favorite character he was, he destroyed her most sacred possession- her father's violin.

She took a few breaths and shakily stood up to stumble to him. He expected his sand armor to protect him and thus he did not move. But his eyes went wide when her small fists started hitting him as hard as she could. She was weak, however, and she could not hurt him. The contact baffled him. Why was she able to touch him? Why didn't his mother protect him.

Gaara had been touched before… but it had been so long ago, that this mere girl's invasion of his personal space, and pass his barrier, left him completely shocked. His eyes widened with fear and soon enough Charlie fell to the ground in a whirlwind of sand. And thus the Sand Demons met.


	20. Angel vs Demon

**Chapter 20:**

**Charlie vs. Gaara**

**Compassion vs. Death **

Tifa grumbled in irritation. Charlie was not the type to get lost. Heck, her orientation abilities were rather superb. Something must've happened with the little puppet and that odd feeling in her gut made her frown. The white-haired woman was currently sitting on the right side of the Fourth Kazekage and was impatiently tapping her fingers on the table.

The Kazekage was slightly tense by her obvious disposition and wondered what would make her so irate.

"If you worry about Char-Lee, you shouldn't." he finally said. "I told you her safety is absolutely guaranteed as long as you are loyal to me."

Tifa was about to speak when she heard an outraged scream.

"Charlie!" The soldier stood up with lightning speed and headed towards the source of the scream. She knew it all too well.

But Charlie had been awake and it takes her hours to fall asleep in the night, let alone during the day. Something must have happened… and she was awake… and using her voice…

When Charlie was asleep, she was prone to talking in a very weird fashion, speaking in cryptic words and sentences. She rarely spoke loudly or shouted when asleep. Even during her nightmares she would only occasionally grunt or whimper… never scream. She, of course, occasionally did war cries but rarely. Never had she heard such a banshee screech as this one.

Many thoughts occupied Tifa's head as she rushed towards Charlie's room. Most of them involved severe pain for who ever disturbed her ward. After merely 20 seconds she was standing in front of Charlie, who had fallen to the ground in a swirl of sand…

Gaara did this. Tifa was now glaring holes into the air, thinking of different ways to hurt the male red head without actually killing him. Castration was a nice option right now.

She helped the girl stand up and back into her room. She was practically covered with sand, along with that entire portion of space. The red headed girl seemed exhausted and had very minor bruises here and there, but was fine otherwise.

Her eyes were lifeless and Tifa saw her hands clutching something hard enough to drawl blood.

"Charlie, what…"

Charlie was clutching the remains of her father's violin. The bastard did not just…oh boy… there was hell to pay now. It had taken years of therapy and Fia's constant presence to make Charlotte Georgiana into a remotely normal young teen… and now again through this.

Tifa did the one thing that she could think of. She slapped Charlie, hard enough to shake the girl out of her stupor.

Charlie stared, her eyes wide, and mouth agape. Did Tifa just hit her?

"_You are NOT going to become an Emotionally retarded depressed little dolly on me, puppet!"_ Tifa was glaring dagger at her. The soldier woman could take tons of crap. And literally take on an entire elite squad of enemy soldiers by herself.

But letting one of her comrades end up like this was unthinkable. Tifa was pissed big time.

"_Who the fuck do you think you are, puppet? Do you think you have the luxury to sulk or to feel sorry for yourself, huh? The violin is gone, so get over it! Concentrate on what you still have and not on what you've lost!"_

Despite the rage in her voice, it was obvious that Tifa was very concerned with Charlie. Her voice was slightly cracked and one could understand that this was her being extremely just when concerned. Especially since she hated pansies.

Realization dawned on Charlie's face. Tifa was always right about anything. Even if she hated pansies.

The Kazekage was standing at the door frame, watching the exchange silently. He did not understand a word of what Tifa was saying, but he was sure that the contents of whatever she was lecturing about were along the line of anti-patheticness. He also did a mental note not to piss her off if he could help it. And then he remembered he had just said that Charlie was perfectly safe. Poor him.

"I know you are there, so you might as well enter, Kazekage-sama." Tifa was still glaring at Charlie while she spoke to him.

"What happened?"

"She had a close encounter with our resident sandman."

The Kazekage exhaled audibly. Gaara was only trouble it seemed and his decision to make Tifa his most reliable weapon about was becoming more and more awesome.

"_Go clean yourself, puppet. Then come down for dinner. I'll speak to you about a few things afterwards."_

Charlie nodded. She knew what Tifa was going to Lecture her about self-defense and self-confidence. Even if Tifa sometimes seemed to have forgotten that she was not one of her squad men, she was never too cruel or too unjust in her punishments or lectures. They were always the exact dose. That was why despite the fact Tifa had hit her for the first time, she was not angry at her. The two understood each other perfectly, even if they were so different- like the Metal one-legged soldier and the Paper Ballerina…

Tifa pulled on the Kazekage's arm and both went down.

There were several minutes of silence. The Tanuki-girl was trying to soothe her. Tifa was always right, and as life was never the kind goddess, Charlie made a note to become a tougher person, if only not to suffer… or at least learn to take the blows of life more efficiently.

Her mind went back to what happened when she met Gaara. She remembered a few things only. Being enraged always leaves a few blank spots in your memory. She did however remember how she wanted the sand to get off her right away. And it spread away from her. It had been the Tanuki girl's doing, she was sure. But she had no idea how it happened exactly. It was as if the demon was trying desperately to protect her.

She was able to control sand like Gaara, because of the demon within her. She felt sad for him. Again, she reminded herself how right Tifa always was… in fact, why had she stuck to such material possessions like her Father's violin? Sure, she felt the pain of it being destroyed, but it wasn't going to bring her father back. And how could she have even attacked Gaara? She felt very guilty now.

After half an hour, Charlie had gotten rid of all the sand in her hair and other places. Finally she was dressed in new set of clothes, again Sunan. Still, the vision of how scared Gaara looked haunted her. Was he so afraid to be hurt? No wonder, really, concerning his past. But still… Naruto was the person that had made him a different, better person, a Kazekage even!

Why wouldn't she be like Naruto? In fact, she was already calculating the possibility to make him a good person all by herself. Still, that would mess up the plot, but them being there was a big bad mess in the first place… She had to find a way to apologize for any inconvenience she might've caused.

Charlie headed down for lunch, she was looking forward to her life in Suna, in general, and she was going to show Tifa how tough she could be. It was her own little Red Dawn. She giggled at her own pun. She was a red head, after all.

Unbeknownst to her, Gaara had been watching her ever since he spirited away Sand style. She was indeed strange. Was his so called father trying to replace him with an angel like her? She had the perfect silky long blood red hair. Her eyes were blue, kind and gentle. She had pale skin, like porcelain, and there were very pale, almost unnoticeable freckles across her nose. She was like an angel, compared to him, the Monster, the Sand Demon… Gaara of the Desert.

She was very strange to him. Her emotions were always so visible…and she hadn't spoken a word yet. That did not matter as he could see her eyes, the way they were so lifeless at first and after that Tifa person spoke to her… they were full with determination and vividness… He despised her very being. Mother did not like her nor did he. She was a threat to his existence. She had to die.

But that would happen another day. His father already had too many ANBU for him to handle covering the girl. Again, he disappeared in a mist of sand. For now, he could only wait for the right moment to strike.

Charlie's appearance at lunch with a cheerful mood made Tifa smile at her. The tough woman knew that the kid had the guts to be strong, but needed also the heart. She was too kind and gentle and for some those were great weaknesses. For her though, it was an opportunity to make kindness and gentleness the strength of that petite 14 year old. It was time to turn a new page… her way, the hard way.

**LINELINELINELINELI NELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**

No matter what, Charlie was still the most musical teen about and she needed to keep her musical prowess sharp. Due to the turns of events, she needed a new violin. And the Kazekage, after Tifa's ominous glares and occasional dark looks, grudgingly agreed to spare some money for the girl's new violin.

And so, Tifa, Charlie and Temari were looking about a Musical Instruments' Shop. Now, its wasn't common knowledge, but Charlie knew little to none Japanese. She had good people skills and Tifa was always about which greatly relived the immense language barrier. She was also easy to understand, Suna being a ninja village, and her being a very expressive 14 year old.

Several violins had caught the girl's eyes and she was now deciding which one to try. The shop keeper was not very thrilled with the young girl's scrutinizing glare, mainly because she dismissed seven of her (supposedly) best violins as bad quality. Who the hell was this girl to tell her which violins were the best. Well, she had no idea this girl had more musical genes in her blood than Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky AND Chopin, at the same time.

"Did you like anything, puppet?"

Charlie nodded at Tifa's question, and the woman smirked. She was about to stun people with one of her favorite 'testing' tunes. The red head grabbed the violin of choice and readied herself for a mighty fine melody.

When the bow hit the strings, the melody of Vivaldi's Four Seasons-Winter sprouted in the otherwise quiet Musical Instrument Store. Tifa's smirk grew into a devious grin, while Temari's mouth hung open.

The poor blonde expected the teen to be good. But she was not good. Nay, she was Godlike with a violin and its bow. The motions were swift and fluid, and the girl had her eyes closed. Temari was sure that she was practically seeing the notes from her memory. The other thing she was sure was that her father would find a way to make her violin skills into some sort of ninja skill.

For now, though, Temari simply enjoyed the girl's amazing musical prowess.

Unbeknownst to them, they were watched (any surprise here?) by Gaara. He still hadn't found a suitable moment to kill her, but he would. When the bow hit the strings, he was surprised how skilled he was. But unlike Temari, it was not awe but jealousy that sprouted in his heart. So she was here to replace him? He, the Demon, was going to be replaced by this little Angel…

He clutched his hands with anger. Mother was not pleased. How was he going to extract his and his Mother's revenge if he was replaced by her? He had to get rid of her. He had to prove his existence by destroying what which most threatened him.

And the music played on. Her face was completely calm, her eyes were closed. She seemed not to have a care in the world but the sweet melody, so tenacious and strong, coming from the violin. Of course, her music had attracted a small crowd of passer-bies, and the now happy shop keeper was enjoying a nice rise in the income for the day. She had to make sure the girl came more often. It was good for the business.

Charlie bought the violin with a big discharge. She had a small smile playing on her soft pink lips all the way back to the Kazekage mansion. Temari was very thrilled by the mere thought of having someone to talk to that was close to her age. Tifa didn't count much for a girly girl… not that she did either, but it was nice to talk about womanly things from time to time. Tifa wasn't bad, once one could get pass the whole scary bitch aura. And Charlie was a cute little angel… once you got pass the weird obsessive happy stare on her face. Creepy, huh? She barely had suppressed the shiver the first time, but quickly got used to it.

**LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE**

Finally, night time had come. Gaara was waiting for her to close her eyes and go to sleep, so the surprise on her face would be the greatest when he crushes her petite, gentle figure with his sand. He was slightly trembling with anticipation for the kill… it was going to be his only chance before his father sent him on a mission with Team Baki tomorrow.

The window to her room was opened, letting in fresh air. It was a bright starry night. There was no moon to be seen as it was a night of the new moon. Slowly and subtly, Gaara snuck into her room. First, he took a look at her belongings. She had a few sets of clothes, neatly set in her slightly open wardrobe; her violin was proudly on display on the desk next to the bed. He took a few silent steps about the room, making sure to check for any seals. Usually he was not so careful… but he wanted to make sure the little 'angel' suffered and screamed for mercy. Throughout the day he had noticed she had said no word… was it possible she was so afraid of him she was dared not to speak? He was going to find out soon enough. And no one was going to stop him, nor see or hear of her or her mutilated corpse ever again.

He smirked darkly, his aqua green eyes shining dangerously, like the eyes of a predator, in the dark room. Oh so slowly, did he make his way towards her bed. She was wearing only a thing night gown, her hair was loosely spread about her pillow. Indeed, a little angel… his little angel… his own personal victim, the proof of his existence. Maybe he would even carve the kanji 'Ai' on her forehead, since she wanted to replace him so badly. When she looked like him, why not make her completely look like him? Maybe he could even cut those silky red locks of hair? The possibilities… the torture he could imagine all because he wanted to please Mother and to prove his own existence….

Roughly, he pulled off her covers, only to find her staring emotionlessly into the wall, opposite of him. She was silently mumbling something, obviously deep in a conversation with someone. She didn't even notice him there. What kind of sick game was she playing with him? Did he not know he could kill her with a flick of his wrist and a swirl of sand? His anger and blood thirst boiled ever so more.

Suddenly, as she was laying there, she lifted herself swiftly into a sitting position, now looking straight ahead. Her eyes were unblinking, staring into something with a disconcerned gaze. Something was off though, as he could hear her breathing become more elaborate.

'…_can use the red one, don't you think so, Mom?'_

The only time he heard her voice was when she screeched like a banshee in rage. Now, her voice was rather sleepy, but gentle, soft, like a refreshing rain that was so rare here, out in the desert. Despite his desire to kill her in any possible way, he was also curious about why she was behaving so strangely. He couldn't understand a word she was saying, but he had the vague feeling it was the same language that Tifa woman used when speaking to her.

Her face twisted into a disapproving frown. She seemed to dislike something. What was she doing anyways?

"…_because I can."_

Her expression changed to a hurt one, then to a pleading one. She seemed to be arguing with someone about something.

"…_sing a song?"_

A sweet smile appeared on her face. Her head wobbled slightly to what seemed to be some rhythm. She closed her eyes and went back down into bed, lulled by her mother's song. In truth, her mother had never sung her lullabies, but she always dreamt of it. Gaara observed her strange behavior. It was as if she was awake and yet she was in her own little dream world, asleep. He was baffled by her, and weary of the fact that he could feel her strange presence in his sand. It was as if she was touching his sand with her chakra.

He felt frightened, like the time she attacked him and broke his defense. Tonight was not the night to take her life, as it was at the risk of his own. He would wait, as llong as he had to. But he would wait.


	21. Chapter 21 Fia's cooking prowess

**Chapter 21:**

**Getting into the ninja life- an overview**

_**A/N: I've realized that I haven't done the poor characters enough cultural shock. And on top of that I haven't updated in quite a while. I blame the Medical University for that but hey! I am a top student. Anyway, this 21st chapter is very special since you get to get great inside on the background of some characters, including the recruitment of some of them. It might seem a bit strange but this is a Naruto fanfic, and what is Naruto without filler arcs? **_

_**The Story itself will be continued pretty soon if things go as planned. The most important thing about this chapter is that it will allow me to skip a few months into the training of all of them and after it we will be more closer to what I refer to as actual relationships between the characters.**_

_**And love it, as it will be a very long filler arc, have a nice read :D Oh, and this is part one of chapter 21**_

_I_

_'The Chef and her daily needs'_

Cooking was one of the things that made Fia's life the way it was. Being the fact she was a perfectionist like her mother and an opportunist like her father, not having some ingredients, common in her own realm, but rare here, was outrageous.

Several herbs, essential for her type of cooking, were missing. And Asian food was getting boring. The most heartbreaking experience for her so far was the lack of potatoes, which was a complete paradox, since, in the series, Chouji constantly munched on chips. Fia, determined to get to the bottom of this, even found the brand, and discovered that those chips were...rice chips. And after several days her panic grew at the rate of the list of ingredients she was missing. Wheat, corn, potatoes, rosemary, grapes, oranges, any sort of citrus really, and so on. They had chocolate though, but it alone wasn't enough. And curry was no way in hell like any sort of chilly or normal peppers. The mental breakdown was imminent.

And, in the event of the said mental breakdown, MJ and L-chan had decided to pay a visit to Pein. Fia had locked herself in the bathroom, sulking in her emo corner. And, as Pein had the unpleasure to find out, he alone had the power to make her get out of the by a simple order.

Indeed, he had much to do, but leaving for five minutes to settle something as childish as Fia's shenanigans was refreshing. Everything was better that paperwork. And the girls turned out to be a lot more than they let on. And everyday he learned something new about them.

'I will by no means give you any of my precious men or women for the mere pursuit of food ingredients.' Pein was currently glaring at an equally stubborn blonde. When one pushed the right buttons, Fia could be serious. And with her, food was serious business. Pein's/ Madara's babies were not part of her holy trinity, consisting of food, knowledge and computers.

The orange-haired man still wondered how he ended up arguing with her about food. Then again, she WAS a genius, and a damn sneaky one to boot. Rose and Michael were silent, mere observers of their verbal duel. He was their superior, and they couldn't disobey him. Fia was their friend and they couldn't go against her. Since displeasing either was out of the question, they were currently on the neutral grounds.

That did not explain how the blonde had the guts to argue with him, let alone stare him in the eyes with such fierceness...

But in the course of the observing them for four weeks, he had learned one thing. This one Fiona was stupendously blind of the dangers she put herself into. Or maybe she was too calculating? Even he couldn't place it. It had been a week since they had defeated Takeshiro, and since he was repairing his tedious nerves, they had made a good use of their alone time, by indulging themselves with Hidan and Kakuzu.

_**Flashback**_

'You are late.' The Akatsuki leader glared at the Albino and the tall masked man.

'Forgive us, Leader-sama... we were delayed.'

Pein raised his eyebrows mentally. When would greedy old Kakuzu be delayed by anything when time was money? Despite his outward Leaderly attitude, he found himself asking:

'Delayed?'Curiosity could get even the best of us.

'Damn fucking wenches had big hooters.' Hidan smiled crookedly, a slightly perverted gleam in his eyes.

Kakuzu glared at Hidan. Could the stupid idiot not open his big stupid mouth at least once? Especially not at a crucial moment? The temperature in the room dropped by 70 degrees, Celsius of course, as killer intent exploded from the otherwise calm and collected Leader-sama. The stitched old man swallowed the lump of fear in his throat.

'Kakuzu, you disappoint me.' Pein stated calmly. That translated was actually along the lines of: 'You were late because you were picking up chicks!?'

'Chill out for fucking Jashin's sake, man! The fucking bitches hit on us!' Hidan said in their defence.

'Is it true Kakuzu?' Pein asked, still looking as intimidating as he could possibly be. There was no getting out of this for them.

The stitched man nodded.

'Three weird young women, a red head, a black haired girl and a...'

'Blonde?' Pein finished.

'You fucking know em!?' Hidan shouted incredulously. 'Fucking damn! And I thought you had a ten foot pole up your ass... I mean... MFF!'

Kakuzu stitched Hidan's mouth shut. There was no way he was going to let Hidan call Pein gay or something of the sort. Did the Albino have a brain at all? He doubted that.

Pein and Kakuzu ignored the fuming and now also wrapped up in black strings Hidan- now an inefficient background noise.

'Be mindful of them. They seem to be quite intriguing and might be useful to the cause. Do not be fooled by their demeanour. Especially by the blonde's happy-go-lucky attitude.'

Hidan stopped thrashing and even he listened carefully.

'While you are in Amegakure make sure to keep an eye on them when you cross paths.'

'May I ask why...?' Kakuzu started, but Pein answered before he even finished his question.

'A group of ninjas were sent by me to investigate a sighting of people in the forest. The group brought them back. In a nutshell, they are suspicious but they haven't shown any signs of actually being ninja... still, many things about them are disturbingly weird.'

The Leader took out their files from his desk and Kakuzu took a look at them. Being a Bounty hunter had made him quite the connections...

'They're not the only ones.' He finally said, actually surprising Pein for once. At least it paid off to have him about with all those connections.

'I've heard rumours of strangely clad people... just appearing out of nowhere...' Kakuzu looked meaningly at Pein.' Two men and two women in Snow Country. Three of them seemed to be Hyuugas by the descriptions. No headbands whatsoever...strange clothing, that sort of thing. They appeared after a massive avalanche.'

Pein nodded, quite intrigued by the turn of events. Kakuzu continued:

'A woman and a young girl, in her early teens, were found near Suna. The only reason why I believe they have some connection to all of this is because they were taken to live in the Kazekage Mansion.'

There was silence for a few moments in which Pein processed the information.

'Anything else?'

'I tried to look up information on them. Nothing on the Bingo Books, let alone information about them at all anywhere!' Kakuzu stressed on the last part.' As if they appeared out of thin air. I also found out that there was some guy in Konoha who seems to have just decided to live there, the thing is that the Hokage is keeping a close eye on him. My informant told me that there were all kinds of gossip about him. Most is probably gibberish but one isn't.'

Kakuzu paused and said the next part of his impromptu speech with a glint in his eyes:

'Rumour has it he is a long lost Uchiha.'

Silence hit Pein's office like a Blacksmith's hammer on an anvil. Usually, Pein was not one to look up the more absurd rumours. He needed solid facts. This time, however absurd the whole situation, the facts were in his hands, and Kakuzu merely brought the latest ninja gossip.

In the shadowy world of ninja, being ahead with information was crucial. And Pein had just found himself in the middle of a very complicated puzzle, in which those three girls played a crucial role.

Thus, they were, in a sense, telling the truth. At this point his gut feeling was telling him something was very off. He felt disturbed, as he hadn't ever since the death of Yahiko. Having a great surge of energy and then people randomly appearing... And these girls, the way they were, so strangely clad and looking like them... Was it possible for them to come from...somewhere else? He had to get to the bottom of this.

'Kakuzu.'

'Hai, Leader-sama.'

'Try to find as much as possible on this peculiar case without raising suspicion or gaining unwanted attention. And do not speak of this to the others. That goes for you too, Hidan. You may leave.'

Kakuzu nodded and picked up the wrapped up in black strings Hidan like a sack of potatoes and left Pein's office.

**End of Flashback**

Well, indulging was not the right word...

'No, Pein-samaaaa! I just can't just eat or cook Asian food alone! I perfected my cooking skills for a reason! Plus I pride myself with my exquisite taste and...'

'I will tell you for the last time,'He started calmly, even if he was barely holding himself back from dismembering and beheading her.'I don't care about your cooking and I will not spare a shinobi to help you out.'

'You have my Bible and I'm not complaining. I'm under 24/7 surveillance and I'm not complaining. I can't read any friggin' sing or a book, let alone speak in katakana, and I'm still not complaining. I think it would be fair if you allowed us to search the nearby forest grounds for any of the ingredients we might need.'

'Out of the question.'

The blonde sighed in a dramatic, heartbreaking fashion. Pein narrowed his ringed grey eyes at her. He was in no way going to indulge himself with her pitiful display. Still, neither was going to give up.

At this pint Fia was ready to negotiate. So far she had only showed the mere tip of the iceberg and she was still considered the weakest, even if she was quite smart(that being an understatement). It was obviously time for negotiation, as she often did so with her parents when she wanted something they did not allow her to have or to do.

'I built the Bible.' she merely stated and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

He did not react in any way, while her pose clearly indicated she was waiting for him to put two and two together. L-chan and MJ looked at each other. Something important had happened and they were going to have a little chat with Fia about this.

Meanwhile, Pein was trying to figure out the value (if any) of the statement. She had mentioned this bible a few times. It was obviously an object that was important to her and that he had in his possession. Then why was it so important to tell him she had built...oh.

'The black box with the golden markings?'

'Yes, Leader-sama.' Fia barely stopped herself from grinning boastfully about it. It had taken him two-three seconds to figure it out.

He glared at her.

'You kept that fact to yourselves.'

'I didn't feel obliged to inform you of it. After all, that black box is merely my diary and a form of entertainment, sir.'

'From now on you will inform me of everything I order you to tell me, is that clear? I have important matters to attend to and yet I have to deal with your incompetence.' It was a lecture, even if he spoke so calmly, as he always did. Fia always wondered where he got all that patience from, but right now she was dealing with the fact that he had called her incompetent. This meant it was time to get serious as in really serious. She needed to show him she was tough, and that she was worthy of him.

It was not exactly clear through what kind of twisted logic she got into her head she had to prove worthy of him, but there was evidence that the truth lied along the lines of Fanaticism.

Her posture had changed, she was standing tall and straight, like the string of a bow, and her hands were clutching to each other, her eyes glistering with silent fury.

Indeed he was right. He wasn't the first to tell her that sort of thing but it was the way she lead her life.

At first she opened her mouth slightly and then shut it, as if wanting to say something but then deciding against it. The blonde then sighed audibly and smiled politely, albeit in a strikingly cold fashion.

'This incompetent one, despite common belief, has suffered enough with trying to live up to others expectations. I found peace of mind in enjoying the simple things in life. One of them is building things you, sir Leader, never knew existed in the first place. The other one is cooking. So, if I am not to build highly explosive sausages for the sake of it, then I am fairly sure you will at least guide me to a library, where I would try and find what I'm looking for.'

A small grin appeared on the man's face. She always ended up twisting anything she said into something absurd. Highly explosive sausages? Then again she spoke sincerely. But that was not the reason why he smiled. It was because he realized something.

The blonde before him had taken some kind of interest in him and it was only now that he had noticed it. In terms of relationships, her and her two friends had a very stable, deep bond, each of them having a very well placed position in it. From the blonde's side, Rose and Michael were, in fact the only people she actually confided into. Her communications with other people however were completely different. Other people were metaphoric toys in her hands with which she played and which she set up, as she pleased. She was the most openly manipulative of the three. It was a very useful skill which she put to good use along with her charms.

And then came he, the man who made it somewhat possible for her to toy with people and get away with it. When she met someone new, she always experimented with them, eager to socialize. Hidan for example, he had been informed, was a sort of acquaintance, and not a toy. It seemed she was looking for the most important members of Akatsuki's liaison. But among the others it was only him to which she listened... and yet she did not. It was as if she purposely sought his attention, and was somewhat succeeding in getting.

He did not know to what ends did she look for his companionship. It was a subtle battle of wits, he had realized, and she was trying to gain his attention without raising his suspicion. He was indeed impressed by her sheer ability and dedication to her self-appointed mission. After all he had caught her after a month, a testatement of her skills.

Sure, if she wanted some sort of relationship, he needed to make sure she woudln't notice his discovery of her supposed plans. He would give her what she wanted, and she would reveal her secrets. And easy trade. Still, he was reminded that despite their friendly attitude, they still didn't trust him.

'I will send for a Chuunin to help you and watch over you while you look for these... ingredients.'

'You will?' she seemed dumbfounded, an expression worthy for a classic blonde moment.

'I believe I spoke quite clearly.'

'Oh, thank you, Leader-sama! You won't be sorry, I promise! And I will bring you samples! Nobody has ever resisted or capped their resistance against my ungodly cooking prowess!'

After her cheerful exit, along with Rose and Michael, he audibly sighed. Had he just spent an hour and a half arguing about food? He needed a break. Maybe Konan would finish the paperwork while he went to train.


	22. Hack'n'Slash Sausage massacre

Chapter 21 part 2:

MJ's Keep-up

_**A/N: Well, here is the second instalment of this chapter. Expect more soon :**_

'473...474...pant...476...'

This had been going on for a while. It was a rainy day today and there wasn't much to do. Fia was stuffing and preparing sausages in her bathroom, L-chan was reading local law books and MJ was maintaining her fitness level.

Since most of the time they just hung about the town, she rarely got the opportunity to do her full circuit. Today was a perfect day for in-doors training. When it came to fitness, MJ was Gai and Lee level, but less sparkly and less smelly. She did mostly cardio, strength and speed exercises twice a week. She had set her pace at 'no break a sweat' at the moment.

'499...500.'

She exhaled audibly and let herself relax for 20 seconds.

'1...2...3...4...' you get the picture. It was her last 500 sit up series for the day.

She began the day with a long yoga session. After three hours she started her katas and then she did crouch-jumps, push-ups and was currently doing her sit-ups.

When she finally finished, it was already twelve am, and she was feeling very hungry. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, she made her way towards Fia's apartment. There was always food in Fia's fridge.

The first thing MJ noticed was the funky smell of spices, fresh minced meat and blood. Of course, our black haired, blue eyed heroine, had no idea Fia was preparing sausages, so she ran on fully alert towards the kitchen. To her horror the floor and everything else was covered in blood.

'Fia!' MJ yelled, believing her friend had become the victim of some crazy, bloodthirsty S-rank missing nin, or even worse- Hidan might've sacrificed her!

'I'll clean up when I'm finished! I promise!' came the blonde's yell from the bathroom.

A rare duhment for MJ but a duhment none the less. She walked slowly towards the bathroom, taking deep breaths in order to calm down. Even if Fia was not particularly at fault this time, she still had hard time trying not to pummel her at sight for the blood-soaked kitchen. MJ was not one to swear out loud, even if she was a cynic, but what the fuck?

She found the blonde girl, sitting on the ground, stuffing sausages, dressed in a medical outfit. The said blonde was frozen like a deer, caught by the headlights, holding a half-stuffed sausage.

'I swear I'll clean up!'

'What the hell did the kitchen ever do to you?' MJ asked painfully.

'Err... I forgot to put the lid on the mixer?'

'...uh-huh...'

'I just wanted to try these new herbs. Togusa-san said they're good for drying meat and they smell nice to boot.'

Fia continued to stuff a new sausage with spiced minced meat. Togusa-san was the Chuunin who helped them find some of the missing ingredients and help replace others. Fia had several pots of wild potatoes and a variation of wheat growing in her room.

'Why do you...sigh...actually I don't want to know.' It was beyond MJ why Fia turned her apartment into her base of operations, namely experimental cooking and trinketing with household appliances. She was still at loss about how she managed to cause such a mess by doing very little.

So, instead of bothering herself with one of the Great Fia Mysteries, MJ sat down next to Fia and grabbed a mouthful of the spiced minced meat. She was hungry and she liked raw meat. Some people found it disgusting, but she was sure that Zetsu for example, would find it hot. Not that it was relevant. And she was NOT a Zetsu fan. No sir. Never.

'The new spice tastes weird but its almost like...'

'Pepper, I know. I think it's related to it but without the Bible I have no way of knowing.' the blonde sighed sadly.

MJ slurped another bite of the mix. Her fingers were all sticky so she licked them. After spending so many years with Fia, she was bound to take on some of her habits, one being her peculiar taste for food.

'You know, the meat is actually tasty' MJ started.

'I know, it's a wonder what you can do with GMO-less food.'

GMO were genetically modified organisms. In the real world, most ingredients were GMO's or something modified by man. In the Narutoverse, however, genetics was still mostly science fiction. Unless you counted Oreo-chan's experiments but every world had their own evil mad scientists... ahem...

'We still need to do something about the kitchen.'

Fia ignored MJ.

'I am not cleaning it.'

Still no response.

'What if L-chan walks in with all the blood and gore everywhere?'

'...'

'I knew you could reconsider.' MJ smirked.

'But I don't wanna!'

'You said you were going to MINUTES ago!'

'But now I don't want to.'

There were several minutes of silence.

'Why is everything always about food when it comes to you, Fia?'

'Because I am a cook extraordinaire!'

MJ sighed. She wasn't going to clean this...this... horror in the kitchen! Then an idea struck her.

'You know... good wives know how to clean...'

Fia ignored her. MJ guessed she might need a bit more coaxing.

'I mean... what if you were MARRIED and your HUSBAND walked into the horror?'

Fia's eyes went wide. What if Madara/Pein/both were her husbands and they saw what a horrible wife she was when it came to housework!? The blonde darted straight to the kitchen, mops and cleaning detergents in her hands, somehow magically displacing the half full sausage.

MJ smirked. It was too easy but she hadn't been her best friend for so many years without finding out at least some ways to make her do her bidding... occasionally.

The black-haired girl washed her hands and exited the apartment. She was not about to bother L-chan as she knew the redhead wanted to be on par with the local lawyers. It was 1pm and MJ had little to do... and the rain had stopped so maybe she could go outside and doodle. She had spent a bit too much time inside.

The weather was slightly chilly but, as the sun had come out from behind the clouds, it was slowly getting warmer. Rain Country had a very strange climate in MJ's opinion. She was walking about the streets, looking for a nice spot to draw when a very interesting conversation reached her ears...

'...,un. No, Danna, I still believe that art must be fleeting, as eternal art will get boring. There is nothing like a marvellous globe of fire that in a matter of a mere moment disappears from sight, leaving you wonder at the...'

'Shush it, brat. You talk too much. And art will always be eternal, as fleeting art will be seen by only a few and eternal art will remain forever to be seen by many...'

MJ's eyes widened. Could it be?

'E-excuse me?'

Steel blue eye and a pair of puppet-ish eyes looked at the intruder. They saw a pretty, tall girl with soft pale, slightly pinkish complexion, crystal blue eyes and black straight shiny hair. She was holding a file and a small bag with drawing materials.

_**A/N: Dun Dun DUN! A little cliffie for you guys. In the end, my sis decided not to let me upload the amazing trip around Europe that Fia and MJ had some years ago. She said it wasn't relevant enough to the story. Well, if anyone is interested I can scan it from my notebook and send it if you want it. But oh well... back to said cliff-hanger. What were Deidara and Sasori doing? Why did MJ go against herself and went to chat with them? And what will happen with the kitchen horror? Will L-chan sue people once she learns all the local laws? And WHERE is MADARA!? Don't worry! All will come in place in the matter of few chapters and then there will be tons of adventure! I haven't forgotten the 4 stranded in the snow country or poor Sylvia who is in the Bat Cave aka Snake Lair of the Amazing flying cough I mean Oreo-chan... ahem... Orochimaru.... I** can't help myself sometimes XD...**any theories about what will happen next are appreciated.**_


	23. The Art Debate

Chapter 21 part three:

Deidara vs Sasori

'E-excuse me?'

Steel blue eye and a pair of puppet-ish eyes looked at the intruder. They saw a pretty, tall girl with soft pale, slightly pinkish complexion, crystal blue eyes and black straight shiny hair. She was holding a file and a small bag with drawing materials.

The steel blue eye narrowed suspiciously. The girl looked vaguely familiar. And it wasn't everyday when a mere stranger would pop up and go 'E-excuse me?' on two formidable Akatsuki members such as himself, Deidara, and his senior partner, Sasori-danna.

'Who're you, un?' Deidara's voice was cold and untrusting. Despite the fact that he was obviously younger that when first seen in the show, he was still the same Deidara...just a bit shorter...and the Deidara from Shippuuden was already shorter than MJ.

On the other hand Sasori was swishing Hiruko's metal scorpion tail idly which almost made her gulp. For a few more moments, she just stood there, looking at them, taking in their appearance. In truth, MJ was extremely fascinated with Hiruko's technical ingenuity. On her outside though, she seemed mostly calm,if a little fidgety and slightly startled for some reason. Deidara seemed cute. Sasori's Hiruko's masked expression oddly reminded her of Sam, their own Sasori Cosplayer. Their voices though were nothing alike... even Deidara's compared to the deep masculine sexy voice of that hunky Deidara Cosplayer they had...

'My name is Jessica. I heard you talk about art and I ...uh...' her voice quieted down. It was obvious she was a not so talkative and she looked at her feet, small blush appearing on her pale cheeks, while she nibbled on her lower lip.

Sasori knew she wanted something.

'Beat it, kid. We don't have time for your incompetence.' Hiruko's body started to move away.

'So,un, what do you got there?' Deidara eyed the file, which obviously had paper for drawing in it.

MJ looked up (oh wait, no can be! He's shorter than her ...with a head XD)... uh... down to his steel blue eye.

'I've heard you were great artists and I was wondering....'

'You want advice, un?' His one visible eye beamed, and Sasori stopped dead in his tracks. MJ had the impression those two were art 'suckers' and had the strange sense of impending doom, the one she always had when Fia had one of her more 'brilliant' moments (note the sarcasm).

'Well, uh, yes, if you could be so kind.' she smiled shyly, putting her English charms to work.

Deidara grinned.

'Sure, un! Always glad to help aspiring artists! Say, how old are you, Jessica-san?'

'Almost 17.' she answered, quite aware that he expected her to be a bit... older, considering his short...stout..._snort_....problem...hehe...

'WHAT DID THEY FEED YOU, WOMAN! UN!' Deidara shouted incredulously which made MJ to anime drop on the ground. Deidara was foaming at the mouth, while she was sure Sasori was practically ROFLcoptering mentally... that is if he had any feelings left at all...

'I assure you it was healthy food.' the girl answered, ignoring the whole screaming and anime dropping, mainly because she had the same thing at home, namely Fia. Sasori noticed that fact, as well.

After several uncomfortable minutes,in which Deidara was regaining his faith in humanity, after losing it over a girl his age who was freakishly tall, he finally spoke again.

'If you want an advice, un, you have to earn it.'

Sasori looked at him incredulously. Did Deidara finally formed the backbone needed to ask a girl out on a date? He still remembered the rather pathetic last attempt which had left the poor teen in his care (supposed care) in mental pieces. Well, he did scare her away with his fireworks...the brat.

'How do I earn it?'

'Well....'

The grin on Deidara's face told Sasori enough and the Puppet Master cut the incompetent one.

'Tell us your opinion of art.'

Hiruko's emotionless face looked almost smug, while Deidara was glaring heatedly at the Puppet Master's...puppet. Then both Akatsuki members looked expectantly at MJ, waiting for her answer.

MJ blinked. What did she think of art? That was a tough one. While, when younger, she had been absolutely pro-Sasori, meaning she thought art should be eternal, now she thought one thing alone. With one arm on her hips, standing tall and proud, with as much elegance as her aristocratic blood allowed, she took a breath and answered:

'I think art is sexy.'

Deidara's one visible steel blue eye blinked. And then blinked again.

'What, un?'

He grinned goofily. MJ mentally raised one sceptical eye brow. Every time she answered something and had the word sexy in it, the male counterpart in said conversation would grin goofily. Was it what she said? Or it was the fact that all men in puberty were overhormonal, crazy, douche bags.

'If one's creation appeals to the eye, it is art. Therefore art must be sexy in order to be art, ne?' she answered in that slow type of tone, in which people tried to explain something OBVIOUS to 'tardy' people who found said OBVIOUS things DIFICULT.

Another wave of smugness hit her from Sasori. He seemed to enjoy this. And, as always, MJ had a knack to know exactly what people hid behind their masks of emotionally void bastards.

'Yeah, un. But what do you think about art. What should art be? Eternal or fleeting?' Deidara once again grinned cheekily.

Sasori rolled his eyes at the blonde's bratty antics. MJ did not visibly react. She simply stared at Deidara.

'Art is neighter.' she answered after a while. But by the looks of confusion from Deidara, she decided to broaden up her answer. ' Art is a form of expression. Any form of art is just that- art. It creates impact. Art might've existed for but a fraction of a moment, but create an impact for a life time. Art could be eternal, but it can create different impacts for the different cultures, the different generations. All these things lead me to believe that art is just art. If anything, it should be respected, and it must not be judged by the boundaries of time.'

The shine of Deidara's eyes spoke of spiritual enlightment. The truth was that Fia and herself had had such a discussion and in the end, after their discussion turned into an entire debate consisting of all of the Inner Circle (on skype) and MJ's mom and dad, they decided that art was what it was- art.

In that particular moment, she realised, she won Sasori's respect. Her mature view upon art matched his own, except for the part that he wanted his creations to outlast the end of time.


	24. Hiashi is Angry

Chapter 24

Reunion- Part one

**Author's Note- I'm so sorry for the long delay! This chapter is especially hard to write since it has so many structural parts and stuff in it and its so hard to write some of the characters. I've been redoing it a few times an will upload it in several pieces. I will say only one thing- Mitarashi Anko is extremely hard to write. At least for me she is. I'm trying to make her herself without being crack material. And thank you guys for all those lovely reviews for the last chapter! I really appreciate it!**

Hatorri looked at his clock. Seven more minutes till Sasuke got out of the Academy. Hatorri sighed. As of the last month he had found himself escorting the young Uchiha back home for the sake of having something else to do besides training, learning jutsu and cleaning around the house. Yes, Hatorri was very much like his mother in terms of tidiness. Anyway, here he was, sitting on a bench outside the Academy and waiting for Sasuke.

The ninja wanna-be were still getting used to him hanging around. It wasn't like he was some ninja or anything. He was a foreigner- in both looks and manners, even if he was a carbon copy of the young Uchiha heir. Luckily for him, he had his I-pod booming music in his ears. 4 minutes to go.

One of the more interesting things that had transpired the last week was him meeting the one and only Uzumaki Naruto. He had seen only a few episodes of the anime (and they were in English, mind you) and he had never really read the manga. He was just not interested in these kind of things. He was more of a Transformers fan. And Bobbie Drake was his favorite X-man.

Even being a completely disinterested in anime person, he knew who the kid was. There was no way not to know with his cousin drilling things in his ear. That and he looked like a little male version of Fia. Even if he was skinnier than her at that age, and her hair was obviously longer than his. But there he was, the same deep azure eyes that shone vigorously in spite of everybody and everything... just like her...

When he had seen him, he had smiled warmly. He missed his family and friends. Hatorri knew that sooner or later he would have to find a way home. His smile was warm, but bittersweet all the same.

'Hatorri. Stop smiling randomly. Let's go.'

Hatorri blinked. It was time to go as Sasuke was blocking his daily dose of sunlight in favor of scowling at him for smiling for no apparent reason. Hatorri's small smile turned into a grin as he got up and pinched Sasuke's cheek. The boy glared even more but followed.

'So, how was school today?' the older of the two started casually.

'As usual.'

'You need to open up a bit more, Sasuke.' Hatorri looked at the still slightly glaring Uchiha. 'Everybody else is going home with friends...'

'I'm old enough to take care of myself.' The boy was cold and stern as always when outside with Hatorri. The young man was always so casual and carefree, always trying to make Sasuke act more childishly... more like a boy his age. 'I know you're trying to be bad ass and all...'

'I'm not trying to be anything.'

'Don't dilute yourself with false ideals.' Hatorri was still smiling softly as they walked but his voice had suddenly turned very serious. Sasuke looked at him. Sometimes he was a bigger baby than Naruto and Kiba combined and that was saying something, and others... he was so serious.

'If you're going to lecture me again about attitude....'

'I wont. But I will remind you that being nice to people will help you retain your humanity. I just don't want you to turn into a moral drop out.'

They had reached the Uchiha compound and were alone. It was enough to make Sasuke reply angrily. He did not show emotion in public. No matter how funny, annoying or caring Hatorri was. Almost like an older brother....almost like...

'Like Itachi?'

Hatorri sighed exasperatedly. He was not going to discuss this with the boy, not with so many ANBU listening in. He did not sense them or anything. He just knew that they were there. He was sure of it. After all, Fia had once told him that there was no way for him, Last Uchiha Extraordinaire, NOT to be followed by a plethora of ANBU.

'Let's just get inside, guppy.' Hatorri smiled brightly while it was Sasuke's turn to sigh exasperatedly. It was easy to change the subject. It was easy to make Sasuke laugh from time to time. It was hard, however, to make the boy forget what had happened with his family... and it was especially hard to make the boy realize he still loved his brother. It was a daily battle for his soul.

'Are you going to make lasagna?' Sasuke asked hopefully soon enough.

Hatorri shot him a Naruto-ish grin. Sasuke loved tomatoes. Hatorri loved lasagna. Sasuke and Hatorri worshiped tomato lasagna. True fact.

'Sure, kiddo! But we will go out tonight! I wanna visit the hot springs and you need some relaxation.'

'You always relax and you want me to get unneeded rest.'

'I'm trying to improve your social skills.'

'Grow up.'

'Someday. Maybe. Not now.'

'Hmph.'

It was always like this on normal days. If anything the two of them were bonding. Almost like brothers and while both realized it, only Hatorri admitted it to himself. He had always wanted to have a younger sibling. Someone to care about. It was one of the reasons why he has so close and overprotective when Fia was concerned. Sasuke was trying hard to deny it and was also trying his best to push Hatorri away. The young man just didn't get it! He would only get hurt by being close to someone like him.... HE would come back and kill him...

'So, did any girl catch your attention today?'

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sudden question and soon enough several kunai were flying towards Hatorri's general direction but, sadly for Sasuke, missed since Hatorri had made his way towards the kitchen while the poor boy's brain rebooted. Sasuke could hear him laughing warmly. One of these days...

'Aw, c'mon Sasuke! THERE MUST be some chick your age that you like... or you like older ladies? Like that really cute ramen girl...what's her name?'

Sasuke ignored the teasing and went to his room. Hatorri made lasagna. Lunch was pleasant and filled with small talk.

After a few hours Hatorri and Sasuke headed for the hot springs. Apparently, the young man believed that having hot springs nearby and not using them often was a huge loss. They always did a light spar afterward. Hatorri's skill was improving, while Sasuke had the chance to actually assess his own strengths and learn a few unique fighting styles.

But back to the hot springs...

Hatorri was making himself comfortable while Sasuke was trying to relax. There weren't too many people tonight but he still had the feeling SOMEONE was watching them...

** ITS MY LINEEEEEEE**

**'**For Kami's sake Anko-chan!' harshly whispered a woman with slightly bushy dark brown, almost black hair and dark red eyes. ' We should be reporting our mission!'

' One more minute, Kurenai-chan!' Said Anko was eagerly holding binoculars. And was looking at the hot srping.

' You are even worse than that Pervert Toad Sage!'

' Relax, I was...woah...look at that hot hunk!'

Kurenai's ears perked up.

'Lemme see!' she ninja'd the binoculars from Anko. 'Where?'

'Right next to the Uchiha kid.'

'The new dude? Nice abs.'

Both girls giggled. Life was good.

' He stretched!'

**BACK TO THE UCHIHA KID AND THE NEW GUY WOOOH!**

Hatorri stretched himself, feeling completely at ease. A few years back he had gone with his family, MJ's Family and Leo's ( Light's) family to a hot spring spa center for the weekend. It was on that fateful weekend that he discovered the second best thing after toilet paper as Fia kindly had coined it for him and a few selected others- **SPA**.

' You know Sasuke. I've been wondering. When are your ninja exams?' Hatorri asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

' In a few months. Why?'

' Just curious.'

'Hn.'

After an hour, the two of them left the hot spring and headed for home. For a few moments on their way to the Uchiha Compound, Hatorri contemplated on the possibility of never being able to return home and the effects of his actions...and the friendships he started... on this world. He mentally sighed and went with Sasuke over to the training area to spar a bit then do some katas.

He knew that once Sasuke graduated he had to try his best and help him away from the Oreo- dude...err... Orochi-something...

**...**

Four figures were standing in front of the great gates of Konoha. Three of them were Hyuuga-look-alikes and only the tallest of the bunch, the 20 year- old Misoshi Romero stood out with his unbelievably vivid green eyes, staring curiously at the Hokage Monument which was visible beyond the gates of Konoha. The other boy, a young man with pale complexion and white pupil-less eyes was glaring at nothing in particular, while his sister Helen was making herself sexy Lara-Croft-Looking by fixing her hair in a high pony tail ( though Lara Croft was usually with a long braided tail). Simon( the Neji- copy) looked at his youngest sister expectantly. Hannah looked back at him after gazing at the infamous chuunin duo- Kotetsu and Izumo.

' _Curiouser and curiouser_.' she exclaimed with her soft but rather emotionless voice, while the two Chuunin were staring at the newcomers.

' Please identify yourself and state your busyness.' Started Izumo, while Kotetsu was looking at some kind of magazine. Helen noted that it was true that Izumo was the more responsible of the two. Then she also noted how sexy they were. Anything fit enough to be ninja, and was skilled enough physically to be a ninja was sexy in her dictionary. She decided to give them a nonchalant seductive look.

'We would like to speak to the Hokage, if it's possible, gentlemen.' started Hannah in up-most perfect Japanese.

Why would a 12 year-old be the speaker of the group and obviously the leader of the group? Easy. She was Hannah Woodsworth, and her brains and cunning were the size of the Hokage Monument. And she was the most responsible and down-to-Earth of the three Woodsworth siblings and one Pervert, namely Misoshi Romero.

' The Hokage has no time for unannounced visitors, no matter who they are or pretending to be.' Izumo stated, while stepping on Kotetsu's foot, effectively making him pay attention and leaving the magazine on the desk.

' Yeah, well, we're special and he would like to hear what we have to say.' Said Helen haughtily, earning a glare from both Simon and Hannah. Romero was stealing a glance of her marvelous behind.

'My sister means to say that our information is very important for the whole of Konoha.'

Kotetsu and Izumo looked at each other.

' Kotetsu, go inform the Hokage of our visitors.' Izumo said while giving the four a quick glance. The pretty Hyuuga looking young woman was smiling at him. She winked when they locked gazes for a second. Simon rolled his eyes and sighed at his sister's antics. He wondered if her time of the month was coming. It was usually at these periods of time that she acted so... horny...for a lack of better word.

****

'Hokage-sama, may I have a word with you?' Kotetsu asked as he reached the Hokage tower.

The old man looked at Kotetsu. He was a fine Chuunin, if a bit lazy and irresponsible at times, but nothing too serious. The young ninja was best friends with Izumo, another Chuunin, and he was keeping him in check.

'Of course.'

'Hokage-sama, four strangers appeared at the gate. They say they have an urgent message for you.'

' Then bring them in.'

'Hokage-sama, three of them seem to be Hyuuga but they do not appear to be ninja at all. In fact, I've never seen them around Konoha.'

That last piece of information made the Hokage more alert. What if they were like young Hatorri, who was living with Sasuke? And what of Hiashi Hyuuga? If he got word of this (which he probably would have by now) he could be a pain in the ass. He was a good and loyal ninja of Konoha, but a bit too stuck up.

'Go get them, Kotetsu-san. I'll call Hiashi, just in case he isn't on his way yet, which I highly doubt.' the old man sighed. He could smell the trouble brewing.

****

A masked ANBU appeared at the gates of Konoha to find Izumo being smothered by the seductive playful ways of the eldest girl in the group, a rather sexy-looking Hyuuga with slightly lavender pale eyes. Izumo was flustered, and the two boys were being effortlessly held back by the youngest of the group- the small Hyuuga girl with an emotionless expression. She struck him as a very bored of nuisance girl.

'Excuse me,' the ANBU started, which made all five people look at him (4 really, as Hannah was already looking at him),' I am Hare-san and Hokage-sama sent me to escort you to his office in the Hokage Tower.'

'Hn.' the girl let go of the two young men and since they had stopped struggling with her tight grasp of their shirts, they promptly fell on the ground on top of each other. Hare-san knew who the group leader was- the little girl. So he turned directly to her.

'Follow me, please.'

Hannah nodded and took up her back pack (which was still rather heavy since it was packed for an Alpine trek to a mountain villa with two weeks worth of clothes and provisions, which turned out to be quite useful on their way from Snow Country to Konoha. But that was a separate story of its own. The girl made her way to walk side by side with the ANBU, and the two of them were calmly making their way to the Hokage monument while the other three members of their group were hastily trying to catch them.

Romero was carrying Helen's pack, which wasn't anything new since he was trying to impress her with his athletic physique. Not that he was succeeding. Helen was walking the Cat walk on the other side of the Hare ANBU and Simon, who was at the back with Romero, was glaring daggers at said companion since he was a very overprotective brother and he enjoyed using his newly found Superb Juuken skills.

The trek to the Hokage's office had been an entertaining one for Hannah and Helen. Romero and Simon were too busy eying each other like the greatest of nemesises. One could even see the sparks clashing between their eyes. Vivid green locked with pale white pupil-less eyes.

The Hare ANBU stopped in front of what appeared to be the Hokage tower. He could feel two very powerful chakras clashing- those of Hokage-sama and of one Hyuuga Hiashi.

****

'Hiashi-san please calm down.' The Hokage tried to subdue the raging Hyuuga Clan Head.

'Calm down when our precious Byakugan has been spread outside of KONOHA!? AND YOU KNEW!'

'Hiashi-san, you probably found out before about these people, who happen to have the Byakugan...'

'AND NOT TO MENTION THE MAN WHO LIVES WITH THE LAST UCHIHA! HAVE YOU GONE SENILE,OLD MAN!?'

'H-hokage-s-sama...' his secretary started timidly. Hiashi stopped shouting and turned to glare at the girl. She gulped but continued still.' T-the p-people you requested a-are here.'

The Hokage nodded and she bolted out of the office and the four people and the Hare ANBU came in.

First was the cat-like Lara-Croft-ish Helen who elegantly strode over to where the Hokage was, her expression a perfect imitation of Hiashi's usual better-than-though expression. She stood before Hiashi and the Hokage, completely shrugging off the killer intent of the first and giving a small smile towards the old man. Hiruzen had only one thing in mind- that is one hot, haughty Hyuuga chick. Next was Romero, who placed Helen's huge back pack next to the door and stood beside Helen, while smiling timidly to Hiashi, almost as if to say ' I'm not a threat, don't hurt me!'. Next was a little girl, Hannah, who, due to her young age, still resembled Hanabi a lot, which made Hiashi to gape at her. The girl, still expressionless, nodded in his direction, a silent promise to explain everything in her eyes. Last came in the Hare ANBU and Simon. Hiashi finally realized that the three of them looked like older versions of his two daughters and his nephew, Neji. What the hell was going on!?

'Greetings, Hokage-sama.' Hannah started with her soft voice. Hiashi almost started. Her voice was almost the same as Hanabi's!' It is good to see that Lord Hiashi is here. It would spare us the time to get him.'

The Hokage nodded. He was almost sure they were friends or at least acquaintances of Hatorri, judging by their strange clothes and their dialect, even though it sounded so refined. Hiashi, as one could guess, had immediately calmed down by the sight of them.

'Are you by any chance friends or acquaintances of a Johnson Hatorri?' the Hokage asked, before Hannah had the chance to continue her speech for the occasion. Her delicate face contorted into an emotion for the first time since she was here.

'Hatorri-sempai is here?' even her voice sounded surprised. 'Has he told you anything about his situation? Are Leader-sama, Jessica-sempai, Charlie-chan, Tifa-Sama and Fiona-sempai here as well? They all had disappeared so suddenly and we were very worried.'

This was VERY interesting for Hiashi.

'I want to know what is going on THIS instant!' he demanded, his voice deadly.

'It would be wise to call Young Hatorri and even younger Sasuke for the occasion, Hiashi-san. Please be patient until they arrive.'

Hiashi exhaled audibly. He was not a patient man.

****

Hatorri was minding his own busyness going to the groceries store. He was walking with a slight spring to his step, a happy whistler's tune on his lips and a pair of I-pod head phones booming music in his ears. Having no cars in the Narutoverse was a plus when you were a practicaly deaf pedestrian walking carelessly in the streets. A shadow glimpsed through one of the trees near him. He paid it no heed. After several few more such 'shadows', he started to wonder if someone was following him. It was kind of creepy, but given the history of being kidnapped by the AFC in any given moment, it was no wonder why he remained undisturbed. He was sure he was under 24/ 7 surveillance and whatever was following him was no threat to him or Sasuke.

He entered the groceries store and started filling his cart with all he needed for tonight's dinner. Sasuke was feeling like grilled fish and vegetables in the morning so this was going to be a nice surprise, Hatorri had mused. He remembered his cousin blabbing about how her future husband loved grilled fish and soup... Well, if Hatorri could do anything about it, said future Husband would be in hospital for three months before having the chance to even propose to Fia, let alone be approved by Grandpa Johnson.

For some reason, he felt like buying more food than needed. He might as well make the same meal tomorrow. That way he could skip buying groceries for tomorrow. It was kind of funny to know that Sasuke and Hatorri preferred to by groceries for the day, instead of the week. They both had eagerly (at least Hatorri was very openly eager) that they had to satiate their desires with freshly bought groceries.

Hatorri paid the cashier and flashed the girl a charming smile and with a ' Thank you and Have a nice day!' he left the poor thing blushing madly. On the way out he almost bumped into a woman with dark shiny black hair, that seemed to have purple tint to it. She was a gifted woman, well exposing her gifts with a fishnet shirt and a suggestively opened brown trench coat. Her hitai ate obviously marked her as ninja. Hatorri apologized to her but she seemed fixated with the cashier girl, glaring daggers, death and doom at her. Hatorri left, not really noticing the situation and headed back for Uchiha manor.

As for who was glaring...well... Mitarashi Anko was known as the Scary/ Crazy Snake Lady of Konohagakure no Sato. And she was particularly angry with the cashier girl for stealing HIS SMILES.

Nothing really happened, except scaring the girl into quitting her job and finding a new one far away.

Meanwhile, Hatorri was slowly progressing with the clean up of the Uchiha Compound. He was a clean freak, much like a certain MJK, aka Michael Jessica Keats. So far he had managed to get the house and the immediate garden into a decent shape. Sake and newspapers proved perfect for cleaning up the windows and little garden work was always good for the soul. He even found a few 'wild' vegetable growths in it, including tomatoes, which made his day. He couldn't wait to tell Sasuke.

Now, however, he was investigating a nearby Uchiha Shrine with up most interest. Sasuke had told him that there were several such shrines in the Uchiha Compound and all of them contained either weapons or armor of the great Uchiha's of the past.

Hatorri was, to say the least, very happy. He was a big Sengoku Musou fan and he had always wanted to dress himself as a medieval Japanese warrior.

He opened the gates to the shrine slowly. He felt slightly guilty but he really wanted to get a look at the cool armor. He wondered if he could get one of the local blacksmiths to make him a formidable set to take home as a souvenir.

Once he was inside the shrine itself, he noticed how much dust there was inside. It was obviously neglected for years by the looks of the thick layer of dust. He didn't blame Sasuke. He was too young to be able to do anything about it.

Hatorri slowly made his way and looked at all the different armor sets with awe. Most were black or white or silver. But one stood at the very end of the shrine apart from the rest. It's color was blood red. His heart started beating faster from excitement. He quickly strode closer, uncaring for the disturbed dist floating behind his steps. Hatorri now stood before the armor set. He carefully removed a layer of dust from the main chest piece. The red color was still as vivid as when it was made.

_**Author's note: Reunion Part One is complete!!! I wanted to make this chapter around 20k words but it was kinda silly to hold it back for too long. I decided to upload this first part of it, leaving you with not one, but THREEE complicated CLIFFIES! Can you figure them out? Read and review and tell me of your guesses!**_

_**And What do you think will happen with Mitarashi Anko, Hiashi and Hatorri? Dun Dun Dun!!! The plot CHICKENS! **_


	25. Broom vs Mop

Reunion Part Two

Sasuke got back home alone from the academy, which was a first...ever since Hatorri had come into his life, the man made sure to do everything to make him feel happy and not neglected. Why wasn't he there to greet him? The young Uchiha was wondering if something hadn't gone awry or something of the sort. He felt worried for Hatorri.

Home was unusually quiet today, and he slowly entered the kitchen, his heart clenched. What if Hatorri had gone the same way he had come? What if he was all alone again... Sasuke could not even dare himself into thinking about what would he do with out Hatorri. He was almost like the family he so longed for...that was taken away from him.

'Hatorri!' he yelled urgently, worry seeping in his shout. He almost dreaded the lack of reply...

'Up here!' came a yell back.

Sasuke stood there, shocked. Hatorri was still here. After a whole minute, in which the boy regained his usual coldness, he went upstairs and straight into Hatorri's room.

He gaped. No, seriously, he GAPED.

'What the hell are you doing?'

'It's a perfect fit! I couldn't help myself!'

'You left the door open and you forgot to walk me home!'

' But it was so dusty! I had to clean it up....every nook and cranny...'

'I thought you had disappeared.'

Hatorri's obsessed smile dropped.

'I'm sorry, Sasuke.' he said softly, meaning it. ' I got carried away....I will warn you next time I decide to be an idiot.'

They stood like that, silent, for several minutes. It was strange for Sasuke to see the man being so gentle and in such a intimate, homey way...the way only close family were. He found himself forgiving him almost immediately. Maybe he was being too selfish? Hatorri was his own person and needed to do his own stuff from time to time, right?

'Why are you dressed like a Warlord?' Sasuke finally broke the silence, feeling the need to lighten up the mood.

If one thought about it, Hatorri had managed to do what all others failed- namely warm Sasuke up. In a total of three months, he had managed to rub off on Sasuke, making him more of a human being ( at least at home) and less of an Uchiha with a ten feet ice cube of a pole up their ass.

' I was cleaning the shrine and I saw it. It was so red and Shiny I couldn't keep my hands to myself.

His voice was excited, childish and pleading. And he was 19 years old. Dressed like a Warlord.

'You do know this probably belonged to an exalted Uchiha Ancestor and that they're probably turning in their graves just by seeing how you dishonor their battle attire?' Sasuke wasn't glaring too hard at the now puppy-eyed man. He didn't even care if these were his Ancestor's battle garments. At least Hatorri has polished them and they were as good as new.

Sasuke sighed. He could see how much the young man wanted to goof about in them. He could see the respect for the craftsmanship of the armor and he KNEW that he wanted the armor. And Sasuke was the king of the castle, as Hatorri had once put it, concerning their bachelor pad.

' You can keep the armor.'

' You're my little brother, Sasuke!' Hatorri stated joyously, suddenly tightly hugging the poor boy with all his might. ' I can die happy now! Sanada Yukimura! Here I come!'

Hatorri darted out of the house and then a battle cry was heard, as he had probably started training for some odd reason.

Sasuke still stood there, shocked. Hatorri had called him his little brother.

They were family now.

****

Hatorri was in the gardens, armed with a broom and practicing his best Sanada Yukimura impression. Blood was obviously thicker than water, because, just like his cousin, he had the same urge to imitate his favorite character. To cut a long story short- nothing new under the sun.

Unbeknownst to him, someone was watching him in the shadows of a tree. And that somebody was greatly amused by how skillfully he brandished that broom. His battle cries were very realistic even though his opponents were...thin air.

Mitarashi found him to be too cute and funny for his own good.

****

Sasuke also watched how Hatorri was playing Warlord in the gardens. It seemed fun and a good way to practice one's skills. He smirked. It was nice to have someone to share daily life with. It was nice to have family.

'Sasuke!' Hatorri shouted.

Said boy appeared outside.

'Hn.'

'You should go find an armor, too you know!' Hatorri was grinning like a mad man.

'So we can play Warlord together?' Sasuke asked in a sarcastic manner.

'Yep!' cue foxy grin.

'Hn.'

'Aww....c'mon! You can even pick your favorite weapon and we can do duels and win Experience points!'

'Hatorri, you finally lost whatever marbles you had.' Sasuke stated seriously, frowning at the preposterous idea of the two actually playing Warlords when so many ANBU were watching. His parents were turning in their graves, he was sure of it!

After a few more moments Hatorri renewed his "training" with passion. He wasn't half as bad.

'I'll go get the mop and then I will wipe the garden with you.' the boy said half-seriously and went back inside to fix himself sandwich.

****

An ANBU appeared in the Uchiha Compound to find the most interesting scene of one Sasuke Uchiha clad only in his shorts giving one hell of a beating...with a mop.... to a young man clad in red Warlord armor and wielding a ….broom.

The Hare ANBU stood there and simply gaped, though his mask hid that fact.

'Excuse me?'

'HAVE MERCY!' whimpered Hatorri, both him and Sasuke not really noticing the ANBU, mainly because a few minutes prior to his arrival Hatorri had dumped a bucket of water and a now half naked Sasuke (his clothes left to dry) was wiping the garden with a mop induced Hatorri.

'I don't think so!' said a smug, angry Sasuke.

'Excuse me!' the Hare ANBU repeated more forcibly, causing the two of them to freeze on their spots. "The Hokage has requested your immediate presence. I am to escort you to his office.'

And then he just stood there, staring at the two of them. Sasuke suddenly became very smug. He left Hatorri on the ground and went to dress himself.

Hatorri panicked. He was trying swiftly to remove the heavy red Warlord's garments but to no avail.

'Sasuke! Help me! I can't take this off!'

'I thought you really liked the armor! I guess I'll just have to take it back.' this was heard from Sasuke's room as its window was opened.

'What! No!' Hatorri panicked even more. He just had to wear this all the way through Konoha. He felt ridiculous.

In the background Mitarashi Anko fell off her spot on the tree into the bushes bellow from laughing silently, though only the Hare ANBU seemed to have noticed.

****

Finally, after what seemed to be forever (20 minutes) the doors to the Hokage's office opened up and Hatorri and Sasuke entered.

The surprise was great to say the least.

'Hatorri-sempai!' two small hands embraced the armor clad young man. It was Hannah. She adored Hatorri.

'Konnichiwa, Hannah-Chan!' He smiled at her. He then turned to the rest.' When did you guys arrive?'

' A week after you and the rest disappeared.' Answered Helen.' We've been trying to get here from Snow country for the last two months. We were lucky to have our packs with us.'

'Can anyone please tell me what is going on?' Romero looked at them with irritation. They hadn't mentioned anything about ...well...anything. Not that they had any way of knowing weather it was relevant or not, but oh well.

'Simply put,' Hannah started, reverting back to her usual emotionless self, ' Hatorri-sempai, Leader-sama, Tifa-sama, Fia-sempai and others disappeared suddenly. And it seems they have ended up here, though not at the same spot.'

Hiashi was watching the exchange silently. He was also wondering what the hell was going on.

'They were transported from our reality to here. Just like us. The same pattern and everything. The thing is that we don't know WHAT exactly is this pattern.'

They all were listening intently to Hannah now.

' Hatorri ended up here in Konoha, because of Sasuke. Tifa and Char-Lee supposedly ended up in Suna and as far as I'm concerned Fia and the rest could be anywhere ranging from Naruto's stomach to Orochimaru's lair.'

Hiashi was about to ask how the three Hyuuga-look-alikes fit into all of this (whatever it was) but Hannah beat him to it.

'My brother, sister and I were in the Alps, thus explaining why we were in the Snow country. Romero is still a big mystery to the puzzle. Too many pieces are still missing. Still. Hiashi-sama?' The man nodded.' We come from a different reality where this entire one is but a story from a manga, a comic book. We are here by some fluke of Fate. We ask of you to take us into your custody, seeing how the three of us have Byakugan and miraculously learned how to use Juuken over the course of arriving in this reality. I know this may be much to take in but it is better to be with the Hyuuga than to cause problems with our incompetence. That is why we made our way here as soon as we found out WHERE we were.'

'I will discuss the issue with the Elders with Hokage-sama's permission.' Hiashi looked at Hiruzen who nodded.' And I would also like to know more of this....manga you spoke of.'

'Hiashi-san, I think you can interrogate them on your own at the Hyuuga compound but right now we have one more thing to address.'

'Make that two, Hokage-sama.' Hannah added, eying Hatorri strangely.

'Very well.' he agreed, though not knowing what she meant by that.

'As you may as well guess, whatever happened here is a triple S-class secret.'

They all nodded.

'In this case, I would like information on the up-coming Chuunin Exams. Hatorri-kun was kind enough to tell me that Orochimaru is planning to raid Konoha with the aid of Suna.'

Hatorri gulped. Helen and Simon glared at him.

' You know, you may have just about killed everyone, Dobe.' Simon said spitefully.

'Language, Older Brother.' Hannah said icily, a dreadful warning sipping from her voice.

'Yes, Sister Dearest.' Simon obeyed timidly.

'Since Hatorri-sempai was kind enough to kill us all in advance, I would also be kind enough to fill any holes he may or may not have left.'

Some 20 minutes later, the Hokage had all the dreadful information he needed to prepare his ANBU, including several premade advices about how to go about things right under Danzo's nose, including things like informing his most loyal ANBU into the BIG SECRET. A very important decision was made to try and contact Tifa and Charlie somehow to prepare them for what was to come.

'Now that we have discussed thoroughly the issues of our first matter on hand...' the little Hyuuga-look-alike was now staring intently at Hatorri.' Why are you wearing Uchiha Bleeping Madara's infamous Armor?'

Shock.

Confusion.

'Eh?'

'You didn't know it was his?'

'I found it this morning!'

'And you spend the entire day playing with it...' Sasuke mumbled for good measure. He wanted to destroy the armor now. Since it was Madara's.

'But it looks like Sanada Yukimura's armor!' Hatorri tried to justify himself.

Helen and Simon burst into laughter.

'I can't believe it!'

'Blood is thicker than water!'

Hiashi frowned at their anti-Hyuuga-ness. Hiruzen was confused. So were Romero and Sasuke. Hatorri was blushing like a schoolgirl with no panties on.

After the laughter died down, Hannah explained dutifully what was going on.

'Hatorri is not a big manga fan but he is a fan of games like the Sengoku Musou series. His favorite playable character is Sanada Yukimura, the infamous Warrior in red. The Sengoku Musou series were based on Japan's (one of the countries in our reality) history during the Feudal Era.'

'You know, Hatorri,' Sasuke started.' Since you did walk with the armor all the way here, its yours.'

What he was actually saying was 'Since you didn't know it was Madara's you're better off using it to desecrate his name that me destroying it.'

'You look good in it, though.' Helen winked playfully.

Poor Hatorri.


	26. Itachi's F'ed up Hyuuga Version

**Hannah the Glass Cannon**

**(Hou no Hari Hannah)**

**Author's Note: There are several reasons why Hannah is the self proclaimed and unchallenged leader of the Hyuuga-look-alike trio plus one Misoshi Romero group. All I'm going to say before writing his chapter is....The Grim Adventures of Billie and Mandy. Think of Hannah as Mandy. I want your ideas of who would the Grim be and who- Billie.**

Today, Academy was different, Sasuke noted. Iruka- and Mizuki-sensei were late which was extremely unusual. The class had already assembled and the two Chuunin were 5 minutes late. Sasuke took his time to look at his class-mates as he had nothing better to do.

Sakura and Ino were bickering as usual, much to his irritation, right behind him. Not that he looked at them. They would never let him live it down. He did not want to look at them either, being the extreme nuisances that they were. Even Naruto was here, on time just this once. Sasuke had found it within him to occasionally let him sit next to him and even help him with class work (that happened only once though). Ever since Hatorri told him about Naruto, he felt guilty to have thought he had it tough. True, he was the only Uchiha alive, bar Itachi ( Madara didn't count since he should be technically Undead). At first the blonde dunce regarded him with utmost suspicion and refused to get close but after two months of improved treatment from the oh so Revered Sasuke, he accepted the change of heart in the brooding boy. They had something of a grudging acceptance going on. It was mutually beneficial- no one bothered Naruto when Sasuke was around him , and the fan girls steered clear from Naruto, practically making the Blonde Sasuke's best friend over night because of that.

Right about now Naruto was taking a light dose on a window frame besides Sasuke. Needless to say, they were going to sit together today as well. The other two seats of their desk were left untaken due to the fact Sasuke forbade any fan girl to sit next to him.

Funny how him, Uchiha Sasuke, could order around his fan girls. It was far more productive than making them go away. It was scary even. Hatorri had told him a week or so after his arrival about how to manage fan girls after being the victim of a few of his more....devoted....ones. Order them about, he had said. Tell them to study harder, to stop being nuisances, make them feel the need to prove themselves to you on your terms.

It was a surprisingly effective tactic, except for Ino and Sakura- they were already on to it. He had to think a different strategy for them.

Sasuke looked at the other roll of students. Almost all of the prominent clan heirs were there- Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, Shino Aburame....and one Hyuuga Hinata.

Suddenly the Academy Students quieted down. Iruka and Mizuki had arrived. And with them, to his surprise- Hannah. He raised an eyebrow. Wasn't she supposed to be a year below them?

'Class.' Iruka-sensei started.' This is Hyuuga Hannah. She will be joining your class for the rest of the course.'

Everyone stared. There were only a few weeks left till graduation.

'But there are only a few weeks till graduation!'

Thank you, Haruno, for stating the obvious. Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes at the pink haired girl and sighed irritably.

'Hannah-san has proven skilled enough to be able to pass the Final Exam.' Mizuki-sensei explained.

Hannah smiled smugly at his words. That was the only thing she could do to stop herself from snorting. Usually she was emotionless, Sasuke thought. She was emotional only around Hatorri... or when she was being evil. Chills threatened to go down his spine. He remembered what had happened in the Third's office. That girl reminded him all too much of Itachi. Only twice as...fucked up?

'You may find a seat you like, Hannah-san.' Iruka-sensei offered kindly.

The girl nodded and smiled at him. So Iruka was in her Good list as well, Sasuke mused. Hannah went over to Hinata. Her roll was full.

'Take your stuff and come sit with me.' Hannah said simply at the Hyuuga heiress.

'O-ok.' the timid girl answered softly, her eyes portraying her confusion. Sasuke wondered why Hinata agreed, even if she was really shy... then again she probably had the chance to meet with her last night, after the whole ordeal in the Third's office. Hiashi probably adopted them or something... he didn't exactly care what happened. He was curious however.

Once Hinata had her things with her, Hannah pulled her gently by her hand and made her sit next to Sasuke, she herself taking the last free seat. Sasuke did not expect that but did not show his surprise either. Hinata, of course, turned beat red and nearly feinted. Naruto, now finally sitting on the other side of Sasuke, was staring dumbly at Hannah.

'Hey! New girl!' he shouted, right into Sasuke's ear too, much to the raven head's irritation.' You have white eyes like Hinata! Are you two sisters or something?'

Trust Naruto to be observant. Sasuke expected her to glare at him until he melted but she actually smiled politely and then spoke.

'Actually, we are from the same clan. And you could say we are distant cousins.'

The girl was too good an actress. Her act was perfect, but her eyes lacked the feeling.

Meanwhile Hinata was trying not to feint from being so close to Naruto.

'How come they get to sit next to Sasuke-kun and we don't!' suddenly Ino complained after glaring for a whole of thirty seconds.

'As far as I am concerned, these seats are reserved for all but fan-girls.' Hanabi looked at Ino with an absolute void of all emotion, making the blonde kunoichi-to-be to creep away, gulping.

Iruka and Mizuki watched the whole ordeal. It was frightening really. After evaluating the four new-comers, it turned out that little Hannah was stronger that all of them put together. She was a prodigy, not unlike young Genin Hyuuga Neji of the Branch House. They still remembered how the Hokage had called them in the middle of the night to come and see the girl for themselves.

**Flashback**

'Since the four of them desired to be ninja,' the Hokage pointed at the Hyuuga-look-alikes and Romero,' I called for a few of my ANBU to evaluate them under Hiashi-san's and mine's watchful eyes.

'Why are we here then, Hokage-sama?' Iruka asked.

'Hannah-Chan here defeated all of the ANBU. In one go.' the Hokage said gravely.

The two Chuunin looked immediately at Helen, thinking she was Hannah.

'I was talking about the young girl.' The Hokage pointed at Hannah. Their eyes widened even more.

She was talking with Hyuuga Hiashi, who seemed rather proud to have someone like her in the Hyuuga clan.

'You are here because she doesn't want to join the Black Ops, as per Hiashi's Request.' Hiruzen Continued.' She says ...er...I will quote " My psychiatrist told me that I have to have at least some childhood before achieving World Domination."'

Obviously they were dealing with something akin to Uchiha Itachi.

'She wants to join the Academy students?' Iruka was always quick in his conclusions.

'Exactly.'

'What of the rest?' Mizuki asked, seemingly interested.

' Helen is Chuunin level and will be further indulged into the clan training. Sai-Mon is Jounin rank. Romero cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu and he would be relocated to Maito Gai's team as an additional temporary member. '

Obviously, a lot of things were left unsaid, much to the dismay of one Mizuki, but the silver haired man knew when not to ask what was not wanted to be known.

Hiashi seemed to have finished talking to Hannah and had now joined the Hokage and the two Chuunin.

'Hari no Hou. That's what the ANBU called her. A Glass Cannon. Incredible speed and massive amounts of damage. Her almost porcelain doll look is too deceptive.' Hiashi seemed extremely smug.

**End of Flashback.**

What could have happened during that battle to make that small group of ANBU to nickname the little girl Glass Cannon Hannah ?

Well...this was what happened:

Hiashi led the three look-alikes to his office. He told them to stay there for a while. When he returned he was with a few elderly Hyuuga, who were obviously part of the Hyuuga Elders.

'Truly remarkable resemblance, Hiashi-sama.' One of them said after examining them with the Byakugan.' You said there was one other with them?'

'He is not a Hyuuga and not of our concern. Romero-san is currently being evaluated by a team of ANBU.'

'How curious.' said the other Elder.' The same and yet nothing like their counterparts. We must evaluate their skills. You did say you know Juuken, did you not?'

'We do, Hyuuga-sama.' Hannah replied, looking the Elder straight in the eyes, with cool determination.' I believe that the evaluation will be mutually beneficent.'

'So be it. I shall personally take you back to Hokage-sama and Romero-san. I would like to see you against ANBU, even if they would be holding back.'

First was Simon, who was now dubbed Sai-Mon, or Sai for short, much to his own irritation. He wanted to have nothing to do with that little gay artist...oh well. That was his opinion.

Sai **(pun intended XD) **had to spar against Sparrow-san. Sparrow was a very agile masked kunoichi. She slightly reminded him of Michael Jessica. She was not her however.

' You may begin.' The Hokage announced.

And so it started.

Sparrow immediately charged at him, while Simon stood his ground. Despite his snobbish, bitchy attitude, he was a calm person ( most of the time). He took his spars seriously and this was no exception.

Sparrow attacked him with a kunai. Simon skillfully dodged only to be attacked as soon as the first swing was cast. And then Simon decided to counterattack. Hiashi was anxious to see to what level he could use his juuken. He had not activated his Byakugan however. This slightly unnerved him.

'Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!' Sparrow exclaimed, sending a nasty fireball towards Simon. At first he did not seem to move. His face was firmly set into determination. At the last possible moment he stirred out of the path of the fire ball and finally! He went into the Juuken stance. The veins around his eyes popped up. He must've activated the Byakugan, Sparrow mused.

The ANBU charged forward yet again casting seals at rapid succession. And Simon just stood there in the Juuken stance. Once she was close enough...

'**Hakke Hasangeki - Eight Divination Signs Destructive Mountain Fist** !'

Sparrow was sent flying into a nearby tree, knocked out. Simon did not react in any way. In fact, he bowed to his knocked out opponent and then proceeded by stepping out of the arena.

Hiruzen was gazing thoughtfully at the young man before him. He did not seem much at first but now he was sure that the boy had much potential. Jounin potential.

'That was very well executed, Sai-Mon-san.' The Third praised him.' And now for Helen-san.'

The girl nodded. She quickly took Simon's previous spot at the arena assigned area. Her ANBU was Horse. He was a rather tall and bulky looking male specimen, and Helen could not help but gulp sightly at his sheer size. She was a tall and slender woman. She needed a ranged tactic.

Helen immediately took up the classical Juuken stance and her Byakugan activated, also without seals, mind you.

This time the ANBU did not charge at her. They stood like that until Helen decided to attack with **Juuho Soushiken - Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist** .

Horse dodged. And then he bashed one of his huge fists into her abdomen. He took out her breath and she was sent flying into the ground.

Soon enough, however she was back on her feet, even if she was very winded by that single blow. She reactivated her Byakugan and yet again took up the Juuken stance. She was frowning at Horse with all her might.

This time the man charged at her , halfheartedly for ANBU mind you, and instead of dodging, Helen started spinning.

'**Hakkeshou Kaiten - Eight Divination Palms of the Hand, Heavenly Spin**.' Hiashi mumbled, while watching her slightly imperfect rendition of the Jutsu. A blueish dome surrounded the spinning girl and it held up decently for a while, blocking Horse's attacks. The chakra dome could take only so much abuse and soon enough faltered and then finally collapsed.

Helen swiftly moved out of the way as her chakra dome collapsed and avoided one of Horse's deadly fists aiming for her chest. She did a back flip before returning to the standard Juuken stance. Her breathing was sightly labored, only moderately showing her fatigue. Her frown had not left her face.

Horse's fists came flying at her and she did her best to dodge and redirect them while trying to conserve some of her chakra.

5 minutes later the battle ended on the Hokage's request. The girl was Chuunin material.

'Helen-san, I congratulate you on the successful execution on two high rank Clan Jutsus.' Hiashi commented.

Said girl looked at him, still trying to catch her breath and merely nodded. She was still frowning. That sweat had to go. That was the only thing she was thinking about.

The young woman was obviously Chuunin material.

'Hannah-Chan, you don't need to go through the sparring.' The Hokage started kindly.' You can go to the Academy and be evaluated there.' He smiled at her.

His smile became placid, however, as she merely stared at him, void of all emotion.

'But I insist, Hokage-sama.' came her soft voice.

'Very well. Hare-san, you know what to do.'

Hare went to the center of the Arena and waited for Hannah to take her place.

'Go easy on them, Sister Dearest.' Simon stated happily.

It was a strange way to encourage someone, Both the Hokage and Hiashi thought.

'Begin.'

The Hare ANBU and Helen mirrored each other. No stance, no Byakugan. She merely stood there, as if sucking up his soul via her emotional void of a stare.

'You may go first, Hare-sempai.' she said softly and quietly, but loud enough for all of them to hear in the dead of the silence.

'As you wish, Hannah-san.'

Hare charged at the girl with some speed, not really trying.

'He's toast.' Helen said as she took her place between her brother and Romero. 'And I kinda liked him. He has a cute...'

'Don't finish that.' Simon interrupted her absent-mindedly. He was watching the fight.

Hare did a move to strike her with a Kunai, not putting effort in it at all. And a moment before his kunai struck her, it happened.

TAP TAP TAP TAP! SWOOSH!

Hare was paralyzed and Hannah was a blur of dark shiny brown and white. Her Byakugan was active and she was glaring intensely into his back. She had moved behind him. Hare was like a statue, as if frozen in time. The other ANBU stood in front of him, outside the Arena, watching curiously what the girl would do next.

She tapped.

Hiashi gaped.

The ANBU were sent flying in all directions.

Hannah blurred out of sight.

Several strings of intense light blue light appeared and disappeared in rapid succession.

The still flying ANBU were literally beaten into each other, the spot of impact being Hare-san.

But it wasn't over yet.

Far from over.

Hannah blurred into the middle where Hare was and sent all of the ANBU, a total of 9 people, flying in the air, at which point she jumped at them, then performed the Heavenly Spin, sending the poor ANBU in all directions. She then Juuken'd all of them separately in a manner of a few seconds and once again shoved them into the center.

She blurred next to Hokage and Hiashi, who jumped in fright. She was smiling happily.

'I'm done now.' she said with the same disturbing smile.

The preteen then went over to her brother and sister and pulled out a lollipop, which she licked innocently. As if she hadn't just beat the crap out of a team of ANBU.

'Bloody Hell.' Hiashi swore, not believing his all-seeing Byakugan eyes.

'Bloody Hell, indeed.' Hiruzen finally found his grammar.

**Author's Note: So, tell me what you think about them! More to come soon enough!**

**Next Chapter: **Hatorri randomly invites his still unknown to him stalker to lasagna dinner.


	27. A group of socially inept

**Chapter 27:**

**Hatorri's Stalker**

It was a nice sunny day outside and Hatorri was making sure the house was in absolutely perfect condition before heading out to practice his...broom skills. Madara's Red Armor was neatly displayed in a corner of his room and all was fine and dandy.

Hatorri felt very happy to have finally seen a familiar face after being stranded for so long in this unusual world of ninja. He felt sad he hadn't seen his cousin or MJ, or the rest of their Con group, but he was sure it was a matter of time before they turned up. They were smart young women with a lot of potential.

The appearance of the Hyuuga trio was a big surprise for him. He managed to learn what had happened in the week after they had gone MIA and was wondering if things would ever return to normal after this entire fiasco was over and through with. For a few moments his content expression faltered and he sighed sadly. He stood like that in the middle of the garden, looking thoughtfully at the ground, thinking of what the future might bring.

He knew that he could not play housewife forever, even if it kept his sanity somewhat in check. Sasuke had commented a few days ago that it was silly to be such a maid around the house and at the time he had merely shrugged it off. Sasuke was right. He had to do something more productive, even if probably every free and of age woman in Konoha wanted him for their husband.

With a final sigh, he put away the broom and went inside the house. It was decided. Despite all the vigorous exclaims that he would NEVER EVER be a ninja, he was going to go to the Hokage and ask for an evaluation. He did not want to be a ninja. He did not want to become a murderer for hire. But he had to do something productive. He wanted to help his friends and also help Sasuke, who was now officially his adopted little brother.

Last night the Hyuuga trio were evaluated. He heard personally from the Hokage that little Hannah beat the crap out of the poor ANBU team in record time. He snickered at the thought. Hannah's Hanabi character had merely 17 or so seconds of air time. And because they thought the character needed more intensity, the three of them had decided to turn their version of Hanabi of Uchiha Itachi reborned and as twice as fucked up and powerful. Who would've thought their little plot bunny would persist through dimensional translocations?

There was, however, no real danger of Hannah becoming...lets say the second Madara, merely because she found life dull and the mortal human affairs were beneath her. Hatorri shuddered. The little girl had grown up with only her psychiatrist and War and Peace as her authority figures. And her psychiatrist was along the lines of Dr. Hyde aka Mr. Jeckyl.

The mere fact they had become their characters proved his somewhat misty theory about them being transported here on purpose. He had no idea what so ever who would've done it, but since he had a genius like little Hannah around, he was sure they were bound to progress in solving this peculiar puzzle.

As per usual, there was a shifty shadow in one of the trees. Hatorri had become aware of its presence as of last week and he was wondering whether it was a very hungry ANBU. True to his Johnson genes, Hatorri was an excellent cook and there was not a person who would not comment his superb tomato lasagna.

'Excuse me, Mr/Ms. Shadowy figure in the trees? I would like to invite you to dinner, since you seem so eager hang out. Come around at 5 pm!'

Said shadowy figure stilled in its spot. Said shadowy figure was one Mitarashi Anko, who's newest hobby was to find out everything about Johnson Hatorri and then proceed by making him her ideal boyfriend.

She was completely caught off guard by his sudden invitation. I like this guy already, she thought deviously. Not only was he handsome, polite, a great cook and housewife in general, he was also very outgoing and straightforward. She couldn't wait to have her paws on him. All of him.

**LINELINELINELINE**

It was finally lunch break at the Academy, and Hannah was polite enough to tell her class mates, namely Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke, that they were going to sit together during lunch and that she was going to feed them, since they needed to eat the right stuff.

Only Sasuke gave out words of protest, merely because he liked his alone time. But the void stare effectively shut him up.

Now, they sat at one table outside, and Hannah was giving out her 'rations'. They were damn delicious too. Sasuke was looking at her with suspicion the entire time, while Naruto was extremely weary of her until he took a few bites of her food. Hinata hadn't said a word and was still trying hard not to pass out.

Sasuke was wondering what her agenda was, since no one was nice out of the hat, but some 5 minutes later she merely stated:

'I like our group of buddies. We are a perfectly combined by social standards group of socially inept. My psychiatrist says that it is very important for us to learn from each other different social skills. Sasuke needs to learn Hinata's polite manners, Naruto also needs to learn that. Hinata needs to break that psychological shell of hers and Naruto needs to mellow down a bit. I need to learn how to be social with other human beings in general and the three of you interacting with each other will be a good observation start.'

The three kids were staring at her statement and her in general. She was calmly nibbling her sandwiches and after the shock wore off, they were eating sandwiches as well. Her statement alone was enough to make them stay out pity, even Sasuke. He wondered in what kind of match box she grew up in. Also, who was that psychiatrist?

After some 20 minutes it was obvious that she was just a very sheltered, rich and spoiled girl, and that she was trying hard to be normal. Even if she seemed like an emotionless robot whose only purpose was to study human interactions. She did not ask questions about proper interactions between their peers, instead, she made observations and stated what she thought she understood.

She found Naruto's vigor (those were her words) refreshing. Hinata's gentleness made her feel the motherly love she had never ever had. And Sasuke was as close as he could be to a peer she would look up to if she were a normal girl.

Apart from her freaky scientific talk, she was OK, they guessed.

Lunch ended with no problems to Iruka's surprise, even if it was very weird to see one Hyuuga Hinata, one Uzumaki Naruto AND one Uchiha Sasuke on the same table, trying to be civil with each other.

Was Hannah trying to make some sort of gang or something? She was obviously the leader and the creepiest part was that Sasuke was not trying to take over the leadership. Iruka shuddered. What if they had another Uchiha Itachi on their hands? One was enough. He would make sure to keep poor Naruto out of her grasp.

But for now he would observe to see how things were going to go.

**LINELINELINELINE**

'You will not bring in that mongrel of a kid in my home for dinner. And I do not agree with you to be his friend, let alone Hinata to be his friend.'Hiashi spoke calmly but with authority seeping from his deep, masculine, sexy leaderly voice.

Void stare.

'But I need friends.'

Hiashi held back a gulp. That was one very creepy girl in front of him.

'He is nothing but trouble.'

'But I insist.'Hannah went on with that monotone drone of hers.

'Only on one condition.' He sighed.'You may socialize with him, but you may not bring him on Hyuuga grounds. He is constantly causing trouble and I am sick of hearing the complains of my clansmen.'

'Thank you, Hiashi-sama.' Hannah droned softly and bowed respectfully to him.

'Hatorri-sempai invited us to dinner at the Uchiha Compound. It will be an unofficial peer gathering with goals being socializing and group studying. Hatorri-sempai will be our chaperone. My psychiatrist says I need to learn how to hone my teamwork skills and that knowing how to communicate with the members of my groups, caste or team is a very important life skill.'

So, Hiashi thought. This was her aim all along- letting her and Hinata go to that Hatorri's dinner in the Uchiha Compound. Smart little thing, he mused. She was probably already plotting how to improve Uchiha – Hyuuga relationships by making friends between Sasuke and Hinata. He was wondering what the annoying brat Naruto had to do with the two of them. After all, it was not because of the Kyuubi that he despised the little mongrel. It was because two years ago he painted the Hyuuga compound bright neon pink right under the noses of his guards and on his older daughter Hinata's birthday party to top it off. It was one of the rare occasions, however, that he had seen her smile brightly. She was a weakling, but she also reminded him of her mother. She was not a Clan Head material, sadly.

**LINELINELINELINELINE**

'Hinata-chan?'Hannah asked the Hyuuga heiress.'Why so discomforted? Has your menstruation come? If you have any cramps I can call Helen to give you medicine.'

Hinata went beat red and fought the urge to run away with embarrassment.

'N-no,i-it's n-not like t-that, Hannah-san.'she muttered, her voice high-pitched with embarrassment.'I'm j-just nervous.'

'Does that have anything to do with your obvious infatuation with one Uzumaki Naruto?'Hannah asked almost innocently.

'W-what?N-no!' Hinata nearly cried out.

'Oh, very well. Drink some calming tea. Hatorri-sempai expects us to be at the Uchiha Compound at exactly 5 pm. We want to be in our best looks, do we not, Hinata-chan?'

'H-hai.'

'See you at 4:30 then, Hinata-chan.'

And with that Hannah was gone. Hinata let out the breath she was holding and collapsed on her bed. What was she going to do with Naruto-kun being so close? Oh Kami!

**LINELINELINELINELINE**

'You mean to tell me that he knew you were stalking him the entire time?' Kurenai asked incredulously. And then she burst out laughing.

'I don't how how he does. He did not seem to notice me at all and suddenly started shouting to come for dinner at 5 pm!' Anko was angry that he did not react the way she wanted to and that he taught her a lesson at her own game. She was also flustered. 'What do I wear? Kurenai-chan! You know all about girly stuff! Do I need make up? What do I say?'

Kurenai patted her best friend on the back.

'There, there Anko. I'm here! Leave this all to me and you'll have his mind, heart and soul when he sees you at the dinner.'

'What if it isn't enough!?'

Kurenai had never seen her like this before. There was something about this Hatorri that made Anko squirm with anticipation. She was sure as hell to help her anyway she could. She hoped that Anko would finally find the right guy. Her reputation scared off many suitable dates.

**LINELINELINELINELINE**

It was 4:30 pm and the dining room was filled with the delicious aroma of home made cooking. Hatorri was serving dinner just as Sasuke came down stairs, looking grumpy. He did not like the idea of having people in his house. Especially when Hannah made him to let them come over to study together and have dinner. The boy glared at Hatorri who was OK with the whole thing.

' Think of it as perspective politics!'Hatorri smiled at his mini-me.'If you start making friends with all the Clan Heads, your life would be easy later on. And Hinata and Hannah are two wonderful girls. You shouldn't worry about them. I know Hannah is slightly strange but it isn't her fault. She's a jewel! You just have to be a bit patient to see her truly shine. And Hinata is a very shy and quiet girl and since you're also a very quiet person you would have a nice friendship going on. Plus she isn't one of your fan girls and she needs someone like you, Naruto and Hannah to get her out of her shell.'

'I get it.'

'Just try to be nice to them. I know it's hard for you but it will be worth it, I promise!'Hatorri smiled at the still grumpy looking boy and Sasuke rolled his eyes, sighed and went back upstairs.

The young man knew he got through, however, since Sasuke did not disagree. And when Sasuke did not want something to happen, he always said so immediately, in a holier-than-though fashion.

It was 10 minutes till 5 and the door bell rang.

'I'll get it!'Hatorri shouted and took off his chef's apron. He opened the door with a huge friendly smile on his face only to end up staring.

Mitarashi Anko, dressed in a dark purple dress, with matching high heels and silver jewelry. Her usually spiky hair-do was now pulled into a small tight bun on the back of her head, a few silvery pins here and there. She was hot.

'Er....'Hatorri was trying hard to find his grammar and once he finally did so...'Hi?Were you the one stalking me?'

He asked, his voice slightly apprehensive, which Anko took as a bad sign as she frowned at him.

'Of course.'she answered moodily, half expecting him to tell her to leave, since she was the Crazy Snake Woman.

'Oh, OK. Come in then.'he smiled at her in a friendly manner. He did not exactly know who she was, but he was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside to have something so pretty stalking him. He even sported a very slight blush on his cheeks.

Anko was extremely surprised now. She did not say anything but followed him inside. He was gentleman enough to offer her a seat next to him and help her settle down. She took her time looking around the room. It was absolutely spotless, she noted. She knew of his freakish cleaning habits but seeing it first hand was something different. If she played her cards right, he was going to be her boyfriend and her flat was finally going to be back to the state she bought it the least. But that would only be a side bonus.

Hatorri offered her some tea and she accepted. He poured her some and did so for himself as well.

'Our other guests will arrive soon.'

'Other guests?'she asked with a quirked eyebrow. She thought they were going to spend their time together ALONE.

' I'll be , officially, chaperoning Sasuke's study group.'

'So our date is still on?' she asked, smiling in a foxily style.

'Date? Err...Yeah! Sure! Of course!' he laughed apprehensively while rubbing the back of his head.

'Good.'she said in satisfaction.

Soon enough the door bell rung again and this time Sasuke answered it. He had yet to notice one Mitarashi Anko sitting on the table next to Hatorri, since he was sulking and brooding in his own little world.

He opened the door to see all three of them there. Naruto was looking as grumpy as he'll ever be. Hinata was blushing madly and was trying hard not to faint, judging by the expression of a terrorized deer. And Hannah.... insert Void Stare.

'Hello, Sasuke-kun.'Hannah started her usual soft drone.

'Hn.'

'My psychiatrist says that "Hn"is not a valid social greeting. You should start over and say "Good Evening. Welcome to my home."

'Hn.'he repeated and moved out of the way, so that they would enter.

'We need to work on your social skills, Sasuke-kun.'the girl droned as she passed him by, not even looking at him. Not that he was complaining. He was sure that that Void Stare could suck out souls.

Hinata scurried in anxiously and Naruto strode by as well. Sasuke closed the door and all of them headed to the dining room where he noticed their additional guest for the first time.

They kind of stood there, watching Anko drink her tea with an expression on her face that obviously stated she wanted something stronger but was trying hard not to demand alcohol. She was trying to be as un-scary as possible.

'Is that the shadowy stalker figure?'Sasuke finally asked, as if asking whether it was going to rain tonight or not.

'Name's Mitarashi Anko, you squirt!'She announced proudly, standing up, puffing out her chest and putting hand on her hips. Then suddenly her eyes widened, remembering one of Kurenai's many advices and she swiftly sat down and tried to smile kindly at him. 'I mean Sasuke-kun!' she giggled sweetly ( or rather venomously).

'Let's eat!'Naruto shouted, after having to endure the amazing aroma for so long.


	28. Gentlemen dont Kiss and Tell

**Author's note: I can't believe I found time to write all of this. I have so much to do at the Medical University and everyone at home being sick, me included, but I'm well enough to take care of the rest. It's a miracle I wrote anything at all!**

**So, here it goes. A very twisted little chapter, with a LOT of twists. Let's see what you will come up with in your reviews. Also, the Story is rated M for a reason that is NOT Lemons. There are sexual references and innuendo and such but nothing GRAPHIC at all. The Story is rated M due to the tons of fictional blood and guts that will be spilled and a few other horrors that will transpire. Being a medical student also helps since I actually have a good visual of what I will be writing.**

**Also, there are several references in the story that include games and other media. There are some inside jokes some of you won't get but you don't need to. These are things related with the fact that the characters have known each other for years.**

**I'll continue this rant after the chapter. Enjoy.**

Chapter 28

A Gentleman does not Kiss and Tell

Sasuke frowned at Hannah as she performed her katas perfectly. While he also did his katas just as diligently, hers were, to say the least, much more complex than his own, and he was not the type to let himself be second best. Not by a long shot. There was something odd about Hannah that both sent chills down his spine and made him all warm and cozy in his tummy.

'A-ano, Hannah-chan.' Hinata started quietly. ' Those aren't t-the Hyuuga katas.'

The raven head raised an eyebrow. He had thought as much.

'I know.' Hannah started." I don't need to practice them when not aiming to use it.'

' Hannah-chan, why n-not?'

'While Byakugan is useful as a shinobi tool, I do not find myself walking on a well travelled road. I aim to make innovations. Inovations like expelling chakra in various ways. And in order to be able to do that I need to practice my Kung Fu.'

'Kung Fu?' Naruto asked loudly. He had never heard anything as ridiculous sounding.

Hannah nodded and stood again in her default position.

'Snake. Crane. Mantis. Monkey. Tiger.' She said the name for each Kung Fu style after performing it, fluidly and swiftly. The girl then relaxed and turned to them. ' I am still truggling with the Tiger style.' she redid the moves.

'T-that w-was beautifully p-performed, Hannah-chan.' Hinata praised with a small, shy smile.

'Thank you, Hinata-chan. I try my best.' Hannah bowed respectfully, causing the shy girl to turn tomato red and to poke her index fingers nervously.

' You're stearing away from Hyuuga traditions?' Sasuke finally spoke after brooding for a few minutes. That much he knew about Hyuuga- they were tradition freaks. ' Aren't you afraid of incuring the wrath of Hinata's Father, the Clan Head?'

Hinata was also wondering the same thing.

' No. My training aso includes Juuken, even though I rarely use it.' If it wasn't for Naruto and Hinata, Hannah would've told him that even the Hokage was terrified of her amazing skills. It wasn't her fault that whatever crazy gods were out there had decided to use the matrix of her cosplay instead of Hanabi herself.

'Oi, Sasuke!' Naruto suddenly called out. He had that mischievous foxy grin on his face that just screamed trouble. ' I bet Hannah-chan can wipe your ass!' He laughed.

'Naruto-kun.' Hannah spoke softly. It was all she said.

Naruto stopped laughing and gupled. Hannah was staring at him. Naruto couldn't help but stare right back. When one stares into the abyss, the abyss stares right back at you. Naruto shuddered.

'Actually, the Hokage forbade me from sparring with any Genin, Chuunin, Special Jounin, Full Jounin, ANBU, ANBU Captains, Sannin or Kages. However, he forgot to mentionmissing nin... or for that matter civilians and Academy Students. My psychiatrist says that that must mean that Hokage-sama thinks very highly of you...or not at all.' By now all three were shrunken in fear. ' My psychiatrist also says that violence does not solve anything, being a problem on its own , and by that logic I will currently spare you from sparring. That, and I feel lazy tonight.' Hanna deadpanned.

Silence.

**LNELINELINE**

Hatorri was in a very tight position. With the kids outside he hadn't a chance to squirm his way out of Anko's possessive grasp. The young man, while gifted with the natural Johnson charms, was still a rather green sprout in terms of love, courtesy of his mother's genes. To make a long story short, Hatorri was feeling extremely uncomfortable, especially because he was being quished into Anko's cleavage by her two strong arms that were wrapped around his head in a death grip. His face was rather flushed and despite being a gentleman, he could not deny that Anko was one very gifted woman. Furthermore, his Johnson genes kicked in and now he understood why Fia found men's bottoms to be so delicious- all Johnsons, while mostly monogamous, were whores. Period. And Anko's tight ass had accidentally found its way into Hatorri's hands. No, really. It was an honest accident! As she had pulled him into her chest all of a sudden and he had lost his balance,his hands had instinctively shot forward in search for some kind of support to keep him from falling. Because of the way Anko had taken up most of the space infront of him, his hands had stopped around her waist then, due to the material of her dress, they had slided down to halt at her buttocks.

She flashed him a grin and growled playfully.

'So, you like it kinky? What a coincidence! So do I!' She pulled his head up and nimbled on his lower lip. Hatorri froze at the lip contact. That action proved to be very exciting. All he could do was stare wide eyed as the snake woman continued her merciles ministrations on his lips.' Come on. Don't be shy!'

One of her hands snaked their way to his firm bottom and squeezed hard, earning her efforts a startled jump and a yelp that sounded more like a distressed moan, due to her mouth on his.

'Come on, Hatorrrrri-kun.' she deliberately purred the 'r' in his name, sending shudders down his spine.'Don't you like to play war?' she pouted childishly.

'Uh...I ....uh.' the young man was trying to catch his breath and find his grammar in the same time. Tough luck, grasshopper.

'Let me show you how real ninja play war.' There was so much lust in that single sentence that his knees nearly gave way. Not that her was new to sex. Oh, no. Hatorri was the high school King for his prom, and also the High School Football star. He had his fare share of romances, not that he would kiss and tell. Hatorri was too much of a gentleman. Never in his life had he seen a sight more gloriously tempting and eroting than the heated lustful, promising look Anko was giving him. The glint in her light brown eyes. The luster of her dark purple hair. Hatorri could feel the heat rolling off the both of them.

**LINELINELINE**

Those were some weird times that seemed to transpire, in Naruto's opininon. The first thing that happened was Sasuke suddenly wanting to be buddies with yours truly. As any self-respecting top knotch prank king, he was sure that there was a trap or a catch somewhere along the lines. Even though his instincts screamed no, he accepted the Uchiha's invitation to sit next to him in class. And then he waited. A suspicious frown made itself known every now and then on the blonde boy's face. Sasuke, of course, saw them bbut chose to ignore them. Since that faithful day even blunt lil'o Naruto could not help but notice the slow but gradual change that seemed to transpire within the dark haired boy. He seemed more light hearted and his episodes of brooding were less frequent even though still marginally present. There was a well-defined calm that had swept over Sasuke.

It wasn't the, blond finally decided, some elaborate trap. Something was happening with Sasuke. Naruto had heard from Ayame that some newcomer now lived with the Uchiha Scion. Maybe that man was the cause for such change? A about this point of his curren train of thought Naruto ditched the topic in favor of Ramen.

Then, a month ago, Naruto realised, Sasuke and him were having some sort of weird friendship. He was cool with that, he guessed.

**LINELINELINE**

It was a week since Anko had claimed Hatorri as hers (and christened Uchiha Madara's Armor in the process) and pretty much nothing happened except for Anko enrolling Hatorri in the ninja rehabilitation program, which, by her own words, was going to keep him occupied while she wasn't training him.

Another interesting occurence was Anko's mildly generous idea to teach the soon-to-be ninja some of her own jutsu. Nothing too fancy. Just a few tips here and there, nothing unusual in the quest of completely winning over one of the hottest hunks of the Hidden Leaf Village, par Hyuuga Hiashi and Maito Gai ( if you counted his physique and stamina alone, and that being said through Anko's skewered idea of hunkiness).

At first the little brats, er, children,heh, were reluctant to work with her, but with little help from Hannah's void stare made them accept the snake mistress' lessons.

With Anko being Anko...well, let's say she pinched Hinata and Naruto's cheeks playfully a few times too many. She was trying hard to make herself look child-friendly, but it was like calling an electric fence on a rainy day child-friendly. But that was Mitarashi Anko for you in all of her sadistic, exhuberant glory.

That also meant that her training wasn't exactly training, either. She simpl popped up randomly and handed tips to whoever needed them, mostly Naruto, for being himself, and Hinata, for being to shy to make herself go full out.

And all in all, it turned out that the week was actually kind of crazy. Especially when it ended with the discovery that Naruto could grow teeth over night in infinite quantities, which led to many lame "exploit the Tooth Fairy" puns from Hatorri and Hannah.

When confronted about her rare display of emotion, Hannah merely stated:

' My psychiatrist says that it is good to have something supernatural to believe in.' Her deadpan voice echoed for many minutes.

Then Anko decided to declare Hannah as the next possible Torture and Interrogations Leader. She proceeded by hugging her. And read hugging as breast suffocation. Hannah hadn't reacted. Anko had pouted. Naruto had sneezed.

The end of the Week was also marked by a meeting of exceptional importance. While Hatorri had played nannie for the kiddies, Hiashi had run multiple tests on Romero, Helen and Simon. The results were moderately the same in terms f patternisation- their chakra systems were vaguely several months old and rapidly expanding, trying to reach some kind of standart. While the phenomenon was extremely interesting, Hiashi had found that vague indications that their chakra systems were slightly different, alien if you will. The difference was only visible for a Hyuuga of most acute Byakugan vision. It was a subtle difference, but it was there.

You see, chakra is a mixture of the physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from excersize and experience. By using different ratios of the two energies, one could mold new types of chakras.

That was where the obscurity lied. The chakra coils were where they were supposed to be but the chakra producing organs... It was as if the production of chakra was only on superficial leve. Another thing that peaked interest was how the chakra flow seemed so...detached, much more neater if one wanted to go with a more subtle word. The body did not have chakra integrated within it. It was not used to using chakra on a daily basis. It was as if the chakra circulatory system was there, but the body could live without it. The body seemed not to need it.

To prove his point, Hiashi went as far as shutting down Helen's 361 tenketsu points, only to leave her, if a bit numb, just fine and dandy. The Hyuuga Clan Head was no mad scientist but even he could see the implications of such discovery- things like being unseen by chakra dectectors and chakra traps simply because your chakra system has been temporarily shut down. Inner Hiashi was having a mad scientist moments, with an evil cackle, dramatic cheesy music and all that Jazz. And don't forget the lightning.

If such an ability could be reproduced... the Hyuuga could easily become THE strongest clan in the elemental countries. Now, if only those three pseudo-Hyuuga weren't so....deviantly un-Hyuuga-ish. One could dream.

Back to the meeting.

Having the Hokage, and Hyuuga, and an UCHIHA in a single room going through a genuinely polite and calm conversations were one of the things Hiruzen thought he would never see in his life, afterlife, and, if possible, any other life after that.

Seeing Sasuke less anti-social than usual made Hiruzen somewhat happy. Seeing him and Hatorri going on about mundane things while waiting for the Hyuugas was a whole new level of relieved, all things having been taken into consideration.

From what he could understand, Hatorri had told him that the best revenge he could ever execute on his brother was by living his life to the fullest. And with Hatorri being, well, Sasuke from another universe, it was kind of obvious how the Uchiha Scion was now acting almost like a normal child . As normal as Uchiha children went.

When Hyuuga Hiashi, Helen, Simon and Hannah entered the Hokage office, the boys stopped chatting and stood straighter in their seats. It was obviously time to be serious and quiet, if it was to judge by the amount of scrolls that the Hyuuga group was carrying.

' I see you've brought detailed information on your latest discoveries, Hiashi-san.' Hiruzen indicated the pile of scrolls on on his desk with a wave of his had.

'Hai, Hokage-sama. The discoveries are most astounding. I looked them over last night again, with Hannah's help.'

'Due to the fact we do not possess chakra where we come from, obviously something covered us with a layer of chakra in the form of an additional circulatory system that is actually unused unless the body reaches its moderate physical limits.'

'You are trying to say you can live without chakra!? But that is impossible!' The Hokage exclaimed, standing up and putting his hands on his desk in the process.

'My tenketsu points are all closed at the moment.' Helen stated off-handedly, examining the quality of her nail work.

At a loss of words, the Third sat back down in his chair, his legs giving in to the impact of the sheer assumtion of something so outlandishly outrageous.

'Imagine ninja without chakra! It's just...unimaginable!' The third put a hand on his forehead, looking almost as if trying to stop his eyebrows from going any further from astonishment.

'That would make ninja like those in our world.' Hannah deadpanned.

Sasuke and Hatorri were watching the Exchange like a tennis match.

' You have ninja?' Hiashi asked, intrigued.

'Nothing fancy like you, magical unicorn folk.' Helen rolled her eyes as she was scrutinizing the nail of her left pinky.

' Still, you are versed in Taijutsu-'Hiashi pressed on.

' Common knowledge. While we do have wars and such, other methods are used.'

' Such as ranged weapon, far deadlier and faster than any ninja. Except for the Yellow Flash.' Hannah added to Helen's explanation. And Uchiha Madara- that part was left hanging silent for all but the Hokage and Hiashi to understand.

'What I still don't understand is how you are able to use chakra so naturally, when it isn't part of your nature.' Hiruzen finally spoke again.

'Chakra is like a glove for us. It fits us. We can wear it and use it. We don't need it to live. Chakra is like a glove. Something or somebody made it, gave it to us. The impossible becomes possible simply because we are adjusted to the natural laws of this universe. I have come to the conclusion that the abilities we possess are awakened when we go through a life threatening situation. It is as if our bodies have the cell memory of chakra, but not the knowledge of its presence. Distress brings that knowledge.'

There was silence.

'If your theroy is correct, Hannah-san, then we mus find your friends as soon as possible. They might be in grave danger as we speak.' The Hokage sighed.' The sheer fact you can live without chakra is enough to start the next Great Ninja War.'

'Not to mention the Akatsuki.'

All their heads turned towards Simon. He had been silent, deep in thought till now.

' We are practically like chakra Batteries. No amount of chakra would affect us. Imagine the possibilities...' said possibilities were sprouting before the young man's eyes.

'Back to the topic. Fiona-sempai is a raiding-junkie. You would know what I mean the moment you see her. A genuine super genius and inventor. Leader-sama is passionate yet calm. Like the calm before the storm. You cannot argue with her. Her strenghts are politics, diplomacy and hand-to-hand combat. Jessica-sempai is a true Taijutsu genius. She is one of the best, if not the best, in our world. She is calm, collected and extremely cunning. Fiona-sempai is almost as good a survivalist as Tifa-sama,despite not being physically fit like her or Jessica-sempai. Her encyclopedic knowledge is even greater than my own. The three of them are natural leaders and mistresses of the subtlest of forms of manipulation. They are somewhat safe in my opinion. As to their location, I had an interesting epiphany.'

Everyone was listening intently to Hannah's dull but soft monologue.

'Fiona-sempai is a Naruto Cosplayer. She should've ended up here with Hatorri sempai. But then again...'

Confused looks.

'Think Naruto's Oiroke no Jutsu.' Hatorri coughed uncomfortably.

'But way better looking than the dobe.'

' Sasuke, I'll pretend you didn't say anything to spare myself the mental scars.'

'Fine by me.'

'As I was saying, Hatorri-sempai, Sasuke-kun, Fiona-sempai is a Naruto Cosplayer. She should have ended up here. But look at my siblings and I. We ended up in Snow Country. And Tifa-sama is with Charlie in Suna. I realised that our locations do not depend on our Cosplay. They depend on our associations.'

'Associations? What do you mean?' The Hokage was very intrigued by the girl's train of thought. Rarely had he seen anyone show such logic at such a young age and not a Nara.

'Fiona-sempai occasionally cosplayed as a geisha sort of version of a humanified Kyuubi. That was one of the reasons that led me to believe she may actually be stuck in Naruto's Seal. Then I realized that would not have been possible since we, as cosplayers, are associated with certain things.

The three of us, for example, are often associated with snow. We have light complexion, pale eyes, the such. We also often go on vacation to snowy places. Like the Alps in our world. It is a very popular mountain for winter sports and relaxation. By our association, we ended up in Snow Country.

Tifa-sama is a soldier. She is very powerful and an extremely accurate sharp shooter. She's been a soldier all her life. A lot of the things she did were located in deserts. By this logic it is natural to understand why she ended up with Charlie in Suna.

Now, Fia-sempai's association is " Jinchuuriki".'

Hatorri tried to say something but a look from Hannah shut him up. She liked her well thought out monologues. I guess you could say it was a Hyuuga thing. CoughNejiCough.

'Fiona-sempai's association is "Jinchuuriki" She likes to be chased by the Akatsuki and then use her... foxy traits to outsmart them and run away.'

'SHE'S WITH THE AKATSUKI!?' Hatorri's outburst startled even the Hokage. They usually gentle and calm man was seemingly enraged. Killer intent was rolling off of him in waves and it was frightening. As suddenly as it had come, however, the outburst had gone, leaving Hatorri groaning in pain, clutching his left shoulder and slumping down his chair.

'Hatorri!' Sasuke's voice was that of worry.

' Byakugan!' Hiashi inspected his chakra circulatory system to see black chakra fluidly receding back into the Curse Seal.

Indeed, the Hokage could see the black slivers of flames swiftly disappearing into the Curse Seal.

'Thankfully you come with the restrained version.' the Hokage commented dryly.' Does it hurt much?'

'Almost as much as Fia's vengeful iron thumbs!' Hatorri gasped out with difficulty. The pain was slowly going away as well, soon letting him relax.

' You are a pansy, Hatorri.' Helen stated as a matter of factly.

'I insist to continue.' Hannah interjected the possible bickering. Every shut up.

Gulp.

' Fiona-sempai, Jessica-sempai and Leader-sama are safe. I imagine missing nin have a thing for delicious home made cooking.'

'She's actually being serious.' Sasuke deadpanned.

'You haven't tried my cousin's cooking, that's why you're saying that.' Hatorri half heartedly glared at Sasuke, but the young man lacked an Uchiha's training on the matter, leaving Sasuke completely ignorant of his attempts to make him cower.

'And I also doubt Fiona-sempai would go as far as screaming for the world to hear that she is from another universe. I rather fancy her just scream. She is neat like that.'

Silence. That was a weird attempt at a joke, right?

'Jessica-sempai and Leader-sama are obviously there, being Akatsuki cosplayers.' Hannah continued. She did not tell them that there was a very high chance of them being in extreme danger due to their own Akatsuki cloaks. As far as Hannah was concerned they were probably dead. That was what her logic told her. She, however, clung to the small amount of chance they miraculously being able to convince Pein not to kill them.

'How do we plan on busting them out?' Hatorri finally broke the heavy silence.'I remember Ame being close by.'

'We can't. We don't know anything of their situation and rushing things may not be in their favor. It might cause some major political problems.' Simon stated darkly. Trust him to think about politics.

'Hmm... actually, there is a way.' The Hokage said, all heads swiftly turning in his direction.

**Author's Note: Aaaaaaaaand that was chapter 28 for you. Dun Dun DUN! What does the Third have in mind? Do you think there will be rescue attempts? And the AnkoxHatorri issue? Remember to read and review. I like comments on my story :D. Who doesnt .**

**Anyway, another thing I would like to say is that some of the characters haven't had much highlight but things will change as soon as their time comes.**

**Also, which kids should be paired with who? What do you think about pairings in the story? I would like to hear your opinion. Most pairings are set but you never know. I might as well explain my reasons on the pairings afterwards :D**

**Here's a little visual of chapter 29- We're going back to Suna, Baby!**

**Tata till next time ^.^**


	29. Tifa's First Mission

_**A/N I apologize for the long wait but I had so much work at University that whatever muse I had seemed to be washed away by the daily grind. I hope you like this chapter.**_

Chapter 29

Tifa's First Mission

The Kazekage had called her into his office early that morning. While the last few days had been quite awkward for both of them, he still was the Kazekage and she still was his new weapon to show off. As of last night, he had come across a rather dangerous mission that required her type of expertise. She was an intimidating woman, one of a kind harsh but just leader and also an incredibly competent combatant, both with or without her arms. He admired such ability and dedication to the job. It was that same dedication that had led him on the position of Kage of this country.

He was doing paperwork when he heard the two distinct loud knocks on his door. It was her.

'Enter.'

The door opened to reveal a tall, muscular woman with a proud stature, her hazel almost golden eyes staring at him with cold blooded animosity. Her eyes drifted to the stack of papers and then back to him. He felt uncomfortable under her gaze and she knew it. He didn't even need to show it in anyway. It was just there.

She stood there for a while until he gestured to her to take a seat. She closed the door behind her and quickly found her place in front of him, on the other side of his desk. She sat at the edge of her seat, her back straight and her muscles tense, despite the calm air that she gave off. It was the type of calm that a predator at the top of the food chain would give off. She was also armed, he noted. Constant vigilance, something many of the new recruits at the academy had trouble to grasp.

While he had given her some of Suna's typical cloth ware, she preferred to go around with merely a sport's bra or with a white or gray sweatshirt with its straps down. She loved to bask in the sun while training and her healthy dark tan could make any Rock country kunoichi jealous. As a figure she was muscular, but not overly so. Her body spoke of stamina, strength and agility, the types required for swift movements and survival in the harshest of places. She had petite breast that he found to his liking. Her body was that of a well trained athlete, and for a ninja like himself, that meant she was much more trained. In the world of ninja most Kunoichi stayed away from trying to build muscle mass. This woman, however, was mostly muscle and was nothing short of physical perfection. She was not beautiful. She was handsome, in a way only a harsh, battle trained female ninja could be. She was also nothing like his wife. She was compassionate and caring towards the young, but she was also just to a fault and as harsh as the edge of a well kept kunai.

Tifa fascinated him. And as she sat there before him, patiently waiting for his orders, he knew he had to do something about his fancy. And the fact that he was going to go on a mission with her was a perfect opportunity. They were of the same caste, the two of them. Both were harsh warriors and both had many responsibilities. He had often wondered if having her as a wife would have any sort of impact. He knew that a wife would mean he had to worry less about his home life, and by extent less about Gaara's murderous urges. There was not a woman in Suna, bar Tifa, that could look the boy in the eyes, or look at him at all without fear or loathing.

Gaara and Tifa had a sort of grudging respect for each other. Even he, his own father and Kazekage, could not make that much of an impact on him. Tifa was a strange occurrence in the life of Gaara in the sense that she seemed not to fear death and even ignored him on most occasions. For some reason, she was not dead yet. Maybe it was because Gaara was currently preoccupied with the red headed girl that had taken residence along with Tifa in his home. Indeed, she eerily looked like the boy but was nothing like him. She was cheerful, if mostly shy. She knew very little of their language but was a quick learner and also kept him occasionally entertained with her musical prowess.

Speaking of music, he had to do something about this newly created Sound village. His own country needed money and the only way he could make the Daimyo to use their own ninja was to weaken their allies, namely the Fire country. He did not want to take such drastic actions but he had no choice. He had heard rumors about who was the leader of the Sound village. Most of them pointed towards Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin, Konoha traitor and an ex Akatsuki member. While he himself was no bucket of sunshine, Orochimaru was on his own level of Slimy Gitness. It was going to be super peachy. That was why he was taking Tifa with him.

Yes, the mission was going to be to visit the Sound village in order to form a diplomatic union of sorts. While Orochimaru was a very charismatic and manipulative with his words, Tifa would cut him no slack. As far as he was concerned it was going to be a pleasure to watch her bite off some one else's head for a change. The silver-haired woman was a bundle for even the most patient of people. And she liked her super discipline. The Kazekage wondered if she was even kinkier in bed.

Ahem. Off topic.

'I have a very important mission for you.'he finally started.'It will be marked as mid A-class due to the impact it will have on our village. My intelligence has informed me that a new village, going by the name of Sound has been created and I've finally received an invitation by their leader after several months of correspondation. As you know, Suna is quite pressed for money at the moment and hopefully this mission will ensure an increase of sorts to our finances.'

'What is my position in this mission?' Tifa spoke, using her professional tone.

The Kazekage smirked. On duty already, he liked that.

'Your job will be to be my guard. I'm taking you in order to show you off. That and you are an excellent fighter. Your prowess will only benefit me.'

She nodded but did not react in any other way.

'Tomorrow morning I will expect you to be up by 5 am. We will be leaving at 6 am the latest. Prepare several sets of Sunan clothing. It is up to you what arsenal you will bring. Dismissed.'

Tifa stood up abruptly, saluted him in the way she would salute her commander and left to prepare for the mission.

The Kazekage gazed upon her retreating form, sighed and continued with his paperwork. He would see her in a few hours for lunch.

In the mean time Charlie was sleeping after being awake for most of the night. While she had wanted to play her violin to pass the time, she knew she couldn't because she was going to wake up the others. She did not know about the Sunan family they lived with, but Tifa was a very cranky woman when woken up out of line. So, instead of playing the violin, she settled on starting a journal of sorts to keep her thoughts in check. Being in another universe all together was a big shock, no matter who you were. She was not able to speak with Tifa all the time as she coped by training. Charlie wondered how the others were taking things. Were the others even here? These were daily thoughts that haunted her, especially in the dead of the night when it was only her and her inner demons , not counting the Tanuki person inside her head.

She had bought a small notebook from a nearby store with the help of Tifa. And last night, she had been staring at the empty pages, wondering how to start. If it was up to Fia she would smile brightly and wisely tell her to start at the beginning. Hannah would look at the book with only a minimum of interest and then she would shrug and tell her it was her journal. MJ would sit next to her and write a few paragraphs and then give her the pen to continue. All of her friends were like that. At least that's what she thought of them. They would always help, and always lend a shoulder, for better or worse. She missed them. At least she was not alone and she had Tifa. It would've been horrible to be all alone. She felt a tear fall down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. Hatorri would have hugged her and whispered her soothing words and would have made her smile again. He was like the ultimate big brother she never had. With the thoughts of her friends, she started writing on the first pages, as if writing them letters. She knew that somehow they were going to find a way back home and that in someway writing letters was a perfect way to counter the depression she was feeling at night.

_Dear Fiffie,_

_You probably wonder where I flew off to. So do I, in fact! Well, believe it or not, I am in Suna, living in the same house as Gaara! The Kazekage is also here and to be honest the Sunan bunch are not the friendliest of people. I don't blame them. Have you seen the weather here? It's always sunny, with the occasional horrid sand storm. Life is harsh here but I like it. It is always lively here and Temari is occasionally okay enough to hang out with. She somewhat reminds me of Tifa but she only pretends to be hard core. Besides, no one is hard core as Tifa, as you put it! _

_My time here so far is quite interesting. I am also a Jinchuuriki, did you know? I have this Tanuki girl ( She says hi, by the way). It is kind of strange and I believe it has something to do with why Tifa and I are here. Tifa is also immortal and her guns shoot mini rasengans. It's really scary when she practices. There is always so much light and sound. While I've seen her train the normal way, the ninja were really freaked out. It made me feel quite warm inside I have her here with me. She's always so protective, that she reminds me of a mom sometimes. The way Mrs. Keats is with you. _

_You know how I like Gaara, right? Well, he is being horrid but I hardly blame him. I wonder if we will get to Konoha soon. So Naruto could Fix him. I'm trying my best to be nice but it's hard when he tries to kill you. He always glares at me and mutters. I don't know what he says but it's really frightening. I have powers like his and I think he is jealous. My Tanuki friend throws off most of his attacks but he always causes commotion. Sometimes I get the feeling I can feel what is inside of him. A few of the times he attacked me I felt incredible hate and malice. They were not my own. Do you think that when our sands collide we share a sort of link because of the Bijuu's? It's all so strange and new to me and I'm trying to cope with it. Tifa, for one, trains almost non stop or spends her time with me when there are sand storms. She also makes me my favourite soldier sandwiches. You know, the ones with everything in them. You like them too, since you invented them. _

_I suspect Tifa blows off her steam by training. She doesn't show how tired she is before bed but I can sense it, you know. I've known her almost as long as I've known you and I can see when she is tired._

_I know how you like gossip, so here are a few gusts of local spice. I think the Kage has a thing for Tifa. It kind of makes sense with the way Temari and Kankuro are at dinner everytime Tifa and Kazekage-sama talk. There is fluff in a very Spartan kind of way. It's hilarious. _

_Kankuro is awesome! No two opinions about it. Well, Tifa thinks he is a sissie and Temari heartily agrees, but when he is in the mood, he shows me how to work with puppets! I don't understand what he is saying but I kind of get the concept of it, I think. _

_Knowing you, you would have had his whole experience down in one hour. You're a knowledge spunge!_

_Well, that is it from me for now! Sleep finally decided to catch up and I never say no to that offer. I hope I dream of you guys tonight. I miss you deeply._

_Yours truly and with lots of love,_

_Charlie_

**LINELINELINELINE**

_Dear MJ,_

_I am certain Fia showed you my letter so this next one is for you. _

_This morning Tifa woke me up, which is kind of unusual since I rarely get to sleep. I did manage to get 3 hours of Z's though. Since she woke me up, I knew something important was going on. It turned out she was given her first mission. I cannot help but feel afraid and anxious. I know she is tough and really dangerous but this entire world is tough and really dangerous. And there is more! She is going with the Kazekage to Sound! And that nasty Snake is going to be there! I hope they would be fine. As far as I remember, the Kazekage was killed on his way to Konoha, so maybe there won't be any problems... still, you know how Tifa is. Orochimaru will have his hands full with her. The only person Tifa stands with any kind of attitude is Fia, simply because she knows it's all a farce. You know what I mean. She can be serious when she wants to. You only have to prod her to the right path._

_Tifa is packing for the mission. I'll go help her now. _

_I'll write later more._

_Lots of love,_

_Charlie._

**LINELINELINELINE**

Charlie opened the door to Tifa's room and saw her eyeing the Bazooka with a very considerable expression. Despite being so into it, she motioned to Charlie to come closer and help her choose something Suna-ish to wear. The petite red head started folding clothes and piling them neatly into a back pack. She did not know how long she would be gone so she hoped that the three sets of clothing would be enough. She also snuck in a small picture of all of the Inner Circle, hoping that Tifa would appreciate the gesture later on. It was a small photo she always kept in her wallet, one where they were not in their cosplay, but at the Louvre where they all met. It was as if fate had them all to meet there. It was a few days after she had escaped her home and she had yet to find out about her parents. She was happily tagging along with the slightly plumb blonde girl who was also with her reddish-auburn haired friend Leo, her cousin Hatorri and her friend MJ, who she at the time thought she looked like she was being haunted. It was one of her more precious memories. And so they had gone to the Louvre with this 17 year old teen, with long deep dark red hair and the prettiest stormy gray eyes she had ever seen. There they were merged with a small tour group where MJ recognized three kids- Hannah, Helen and Simon and there was also Tifa, and Malena and the two Australian dudes that seemed rather suspicious at the time ( the Sasori cosplayer and that creepy partner of his had been there to try and feel the place before robbing it). There was also that Serbian dude that took the picture and that later on invited them in Serbia to taste real alcohol, even though they were still mostly kids. That same dude was cosplaying Jiraya and the resemblance was rather uncanny with his anime counterpart. It was the same guy that Fia and MJ had visited during their several months long Great European trip, in which they even had Interpol tracking them, though Fia did not specify why that was so, and MJ downright refused to explain. They were all there. It was fate. She was sure of it.

Charlie smiled at Tifa once she was done and hugged the woman in an attempt to show her all she felt she needed to tell her. And she wanted her to be safe, to have a nice trip, to keep from trouble and possibly bring her souvenirs.

Tifa had returned the hug and then pulled away and placed one palm on the petite girls head.

'Keep good care of the runts for me, will you, puppet? I know I can count on you.'Tifa smiled warmly, in a rare show of affection and knelt next to her. This time the hug was initiated from her.

Despite being rough and all around hard core, Tifa was not a heartless woman. It was just the life style she had chosen. All her life she knew she was going to be a soldier and even now, at the Age of 28, she had yet to find it in her to settle down and start looking for a suitable man to start a family with. Still, seeing the red headed Jinchuuriki trying her best not to show her worry and also showing such blatant affection made her feel warm inside. The little girl, for that's what she was in the soldier's eyes, may not have been her kin or blood. But she was family. She was the closest family she ever had. They were too different. But maybe that was what was needed.

Tifa was anxious and afraid. Not for her life or herself. She was afraid for the mission and the conflicts that might arise. She was afraid of what Gaara might do with both her and the Kazekage gone. This was not her routine mission. It was a diplomatic one, requiring her as a guard to the Kage. She knew what this entitled. It was a test of sorts. Both for her and Charlie. It was time to seriously earn her bread.

She had kissed the girl's forehead and left her to go back to sleep while she still could. She then turned her attention back at her trusty Bazooka. She would take it. If only for safety reasons. It wasn't as if it would work for anyone else but her. She looked at the night stand next to her bed and swiftly went over there to take out the Hitai-ate she had been given by the Fourth. The soldier stared at it for a while, contemplating its value and then slid it on her belt, to hang there. She did not need it for protection, but as a token.

She turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She noticed how her hair was falling around her face, framing it. She needed a hair cut. With that thought, she headed out to the nearest barber shop.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Lunch was soon upon the household as Temari and Kankuro made their way to the dining room. Lunch was currently being served by none other but the petite redhead. It smelt delicious and it came as a surprise that she was a good cook. It was Fia- influence, really. The food was all foreign to them but it smelt great. The Suna siblings sat on their usual spots and chatted idly while waiting for their father. Charlie had indicated she wanted to serve the food. She seemed to be overly cheerful for some reason, and Temari was certain it was because of Tifa and her first mission. She was in fact hiding her worry. The blonde smiled a bit at the girl's antics. She was too sweet for the harsh ninja world. She did however had good aim with Kunai and Shuriken, and showed signs of potential as a puppet user, according to Kankuro.

Everything was served just as the Kazekage came home. The scent of delicious but foreign food entered his nostrils and he headed for the dining room. A simple but rich table met his gaze as he saw fish and vegetables cooked in a different way that what he was used to.

He sat on his usual seat as well and looked around to notice that Tifa was not there yet. He also noticed Charlie who had been putting up the finishing touches on the dining table. He noticed her attitude and shared a knowing glance with Temari.

This was not, however, the greatest surprise yet. Tifa came home with a decidedly new look, her almost shoulder length hair cut off in the favor of a definably male hair cut. Shaved neatly on the back and sides with only a spiky semi-Mohawk on the top. Her expression was slightly smug, proud of her decision to cut her hair.

The Kazekage stared slightly disapprovingly, at such tom-boyishness. No matter how tomboyish, a woman never looked or try to look like a man as much as she did. She was scandalous in such terms. And offending for the female population. She did not care even one bit. He liked that about her. The way she seemed able to shrug off problems.

The man did not comment her decision concerning her haircut. It suited her, no matter how much any local woman would freak out at her disrespect towards her own sex.

Charlie smiled at her and when the tan woman took her usual seat next to the Kazekage, they started dining. It was quiet and comfortable and lunch went by soon enough. While the food was different, it was of no lower quality than his usual diet.

During the afternoon, Tifa and Charlie spent their time sparring, or more like Tifa teaching Charlie self defense moves on the front yard. It was sweet, really. The petite girl's attempts to imitate Tifa were cute, while Tifa showed great potential in the Sensei field. She was, however, on probation (at least officially) and it was probably going to take years for her to be approved near a team of newly graduated.

The Kazekage was watching from his office how the two of them interacted. It was their way of saying goodbye, he guessed. Neither seemed to be concerned with the mission, but both seemed to want to spend their time doing something special. Tifa seemed to be more gentle than usual.

Unbeknownst to them, Gaara was also watching. He was always watching the petite red head. She was like him. That much he knew. And the Kazekage had no idea. That meant she was there for a different reason. Mother did not want her blood as much now. She wanted to know where the heck did she come from. Was she afraid of this weakling? No. It was something else. Something she did not deem him worthy of knowing. That meant he had to please Mother until she decided to tell him.

The mission was a nice opportunity for him to try and get close to the girl. So far Tifa had been more than a handful for him and the two had several near-encounters so far. Charlie was a whole different thing. She was frightened of him. Somehow, whenever he attacked, something blocked his sand. Like an invisible shield. He was stalled enough for the blasted marks-woman to show up and force him into retreat. His so called father had given him orders not to bother them. While he could pull off killing the girl (eventually) with out evidence, the silver-haired banshee was not as simple. She was fast and cunning. He loathed her. She always dodged.

But now... Now the little Angel would be all his for the kill. The Kazekage would not be able to stop him and Mother will have her blood. He would be alive again. He would exist. He needed a few more hours of patience and that was it. He would wait for the opportune moment. He would wait.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Charlie had prepared dinner as well and also played the violin a bit. The Kazekage was slightly disconcerned with Gaara's absence but there was nothing he could do about the Demon of the Sands. His attitude towards the red-haired girl was the main problem about his relationship with Tifa. He had to do something about it if he wanted to even see the woman close to his bed but right now things were pretty much out of his hands. The same could be said about the whole situation at the village and the man forced himself to strangle that small accusing voice in the back of his head. He was not the most competent Kage, but he had been the only viable choice at the time. He was no Namikaze Minato, nor the Third Kazekage, both of which were legendary ninja.

That night he went to sleep wondering what the morrow would bring. He felt slight anticipation at the prospect of having Tifa all for himself for the next few days. He tried to imagine traveling with the woman, wondering who would set the pace to their destination, seeing as both were quite the dominant characters.

While everyone else was asleep, the mute girl spent her waking hours thinking about home and her other friends. She also thought about her Uncle. He was a nice man even if their interests rarely overlapped. She wondered about how he was feeling about her absence. Many a thing passed her mind until it was already brightening up from the upcoming dawn. It was chilly and sleep had yet to visit her. Looking at the clock she found out it was closing in on 5 am. She knew Tifa would be leaving soon for the mission and she decided to prepare some breakfast for her and the Kazekage. Maybe she would make some onigiri, like the ones Temari had tried to teach her. She smiled at the image of the Kazekage looking at her onigiri. The man almost always found her taste in food down right weird.

At least he hadn't seen the soldier sandwiches. They were something that normal people would not look at twice. A soldier sandwich contained a bit of everything from the fridge, minced up together into a fine paste and then put between two pieces of bread, the product then being put into the waffle maker to be cooked and compressed into the form of a hot pocket.

Fia had made them in a moment of food craving, not exactly knowing what she wanted. Charlie had liked them. Tifa found them nutritional and space saving. The petite girl smiled at the memory and decided to also prepare some of them for Tifa. She would like the gesture and the intent behind them.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Tifa was on her way down when she caught the scent of soldier sandwiches. She stopped where she stood, halfway down the stairs, to relish the moment and to smile slightly at the thought behind the soldier pockets. They brought fond memories forward about those lazy days when most of them had gone to yet another Anime Con and none of them, par herself, Fia and Charlie by extension, were brave enough to eat another culinary invention by the wacky genius of a blonde bimbo. Sure. She was a great cook, but she also had a horrible taste. The soldier pockets were OK as far as she was concerned, even though the taste of pickles was a bit weird with the taste of chocolate and peanut butter and jelly. Somehow the ham and cheese were OK with the final combination and no taste truly prevailed, leaving the taster wondering about the suspicious contents. There may have been potato chips at some point... Tifa snorted slightly.

'Ahem'. The Kazekage was standing behind her, waiting for the soldier to come back from memory lane. He caught that smirk on her face, and the mischievous glint in her eyes before they disappeared behind her usual cool demeanor. That small glimpse into that different, more free her made something within him steer. What was she thinking about when she was almost smiling? Why wasn't she smiling like that all the time? Who was that special someone who would've made her laugh and smile like any other person, when she was such a stonehearted bitch almost all of the time?

The mixed scent in the air caught up to him as well and he followed the woman into the kitchen to see her wolfing down a hot pocket with some sort of unrecognizable goo in it.

'Soldier sandwich.'she elaborated for him after a few bites. 'Eat at your own risk.'

For a moment she smirked again and finished the soldier sandwich before packing the rest into her backpack.

The only sign of his confusion was the microscopic creasing of his eyebrows. She had just made a joke. She was in what seemed to be a good mood. The goo in the hot pockets was still unrecognizable but he could see several conflicting ingredients placed on the counter where the red head was making them.

He eyed the hot pockets suspiciously but decided against risking it. The last thing he needed was diarrhea in the middle of the desert with her laughing and taunting all the way. Wooing that woman with success was going to be his sweetest victory yet.

Temari and Kankuro were still asleep and he would not say goodbye. He didn't need to. They knew what his job required. Gaara...now he was not a person he had expected to see that morning.

Just as they were heading out, his youngest decided to pointedly enter the house, walking past them as they made their way out. For a millisecond Gaara and Tifa shared a glare full of promises of painful deaths and suffering. They left, leaving Gaara and Charlie, who was cleaning up the kitchen, all alone.

**LINELINELINELINE**

'I don't see you protesting leaving the two of them alone like that.' The Kazekage finally spoke, as they walked past the village gates and into the open desert.

'He would try and he would fail. While I am not pleased with the arrangements, I do believe he wouldn't dare touch her with me breathing down his neck.'

'What if he knows of the mission?'

'He wouldn't dare.'

'Why are you so sure?' he really wanted to know.

'Remember how I told you that the two of us, Gaara and I, are not that different?'

'Yes.'

'He is like me. And if I am anything like him, then he would be too intrigued by her to seriously try to kill her.'

'You know something.' he eyed her suspiciously, one hand fingering a Kunai just in case.

'I see myself through his eyes. You don't know my life and I don't care about his. But I will tell you this. I've seen things that will make you wish you never went into the butcher business. The day you see a child burst into a thousand pieces by the crossfire will be the day you break.'

He did not answer but he watched her intently. She was going to say something important, a form of trust he hoped.

'I've been broken three times in my life, Kazekage-sama. The first time was when my father shot down our dog for peeing on the carpet when I was five. The second time was when that child ran into the cross fire to save her rag-doll only to get herself ripped into pieces. The third time was when only I returned from our mission, if only to deliver the data my team had gathered. The rest had stayed to hold of the bloody bastards.'

Her tone was calm, but at the end she drew a sharp breath, as if to calm herself down.

'I have seen death. I have become death. I am not afraid of death. That boy of yours has seen death. He has become death. He is freaked out of his mind from dying. He only has his life. I only have my friends. If I die, only I die. If I win, they all win.'

The rest of the day was quiet, with occasional comments about their direction. The Kazekage had plenty of time to think about what she had told him in the morning. Where had that woman come from? The way she referred to their job...butchers. She sounded as if she hated everything that had to do with violence. To some extend, he realized that he had barely scraped the surface of her complex persona. That woman had years of experience behind her back, probably more so than himself. While he understood she was in some form of military, her discipline seemed to amaze him every day in a new way. That explained in a way her attitude. She was harsh because she had no reason not to be. She cherished Char-Lee because it was her only true treasure. She did not fear death. Something in that statement made him think. However there was nothing more than the slight nagging feeling that something was off about it. That and the slight feeling she knew more than she was letting on. Or maybe that was just his paranoia. He wasn't sure, not yet at least.

The first day across the desert passed rather dully. Tifa enjoyed their trek across the large sand mass and even had her Sunan outer cloth taken off to get a bit of tan. He wondered how much more darker her skin would get before the woman was satisfied. Most women in Suna tried to steer away from the extreme sun but she reveled in it. A true woman of the desert was his most prominent thought on the matter. She was so exotic with her white hair, almost golden eyes with the way the sun rays were reflected in them and her dark tan. She was bound to make an impression of a perfect Sunan ninja to the Sound-nin. Even if she had been a ninja for around a month or so. He mentally shook his head at the opportunity to show her off. She was like a prized possession that was not truly his. One that he enjoyed battling with even if it was tiring. It was nice having some one of your level around, even if only for the chalenge. And she was probably even more a Kage than himself with her attitude than he could even imagine. He had seen her train, but he had never seen her in true battle. The prospect of having her kill enemy nin with her extreme efficiency sent pleasant shivers down his spine.

At night fall they stopped by a small oasis with a spring in it. Apparently Wind country was full of such hidden sources of water, which was a given for the Sunan nin. The spring formed a small pond in the sandy ground, around which several palms grew. Tifa did not miss the moment to dip herself into it. She took almost all of her clothes, leaving her only with her underwear panties, of gray cotton, and her gray sports bra top. She slowly dipped herself and let a relaxed expression show on her face.

The Kazekage did not comment on her familiarity, considering the fact normal women would never show so much of themselves. Not in this part of the world. She figured she was used to male company and was not bothered being nearly nude before him. Night fell and he started a campfire. He then bunked himself against a palm tree and occasionally took glimpses from the bathing woman. She enjoyed bathing in the spring almost as much as sun-bathing. She was slowly pouring water on herself, as if bathing in a spring was some type of ritual. Once she was done, she got out and spread her outer cloak next to him near the campfire. She waited until her underwear was dry and then dressed herself properly again.

They did not speak much. He glimpsed at her on several occasions, the woman watching the fire with an air of calmness and belonging around her. That woman belonged on the battlefield. They did not feel the need to speak that night. It was a comfortable atmosphere, one different from the one at home. Probably because her mind was on Char-Lee and on the mission. He didn't mind the lack of arguments however and soon he found himself asleep, her taking their first shift. Tomorrow they were going to cross the border with Fire country and soon enough they were going to meet with several Sound nin to take them to one of Sound's headquarters.

She had woken him up near dawn, having decided, to his dismay, to take both shifts. He scowled at her for her decision but she did not seem that tired. Appearances could be deceitful but other than scowling he did not react. They didn't speak much as he ate the delicious onigiri Char-Lee had made and she nibbled on a soldier pocket. He wondered how could she stomach that colorless goo. He really did.

Soon enough, they were off again, the now more rocky terrain allowing them for a faster pace. About lunchtime they saw the first signs of approaching some serious vegetation and several hours later they had passed the borders with fire country.

It was near sun-fall when they were approached by a group of what seemed to be Sound nin. Tifa had immediately recognized their garments, a slight scowl of superiority marring her face as she discreetly readjusted the Bazooka on her back. The weapon certainly earned her a few curious stares. She could care less. She hoped she would finally get to test it, seeing how the Kazekage had forbidden her for the time being, due to the need of proper test dummies and the need for that to happen outside the village. Something about the size of the Bazooka was telling him to prepare for big explosions and massive damage. The Light and Sound show would not be beneficial for the wellbeing of his people.

'I see that you have arrived in time.'One of the Sound nin spoke, possibly the group leader.

While the Kazekage and the aforementioned ninja did small chat, Tifa remained silent, observing their escort. The feel of them was just not right. It wasn't because she knew that most of the Sound ninja were evil, twisted or damn right insane. It was because she had dealt with such filth before. Oh, she had dealt with them all right. 3 years in a roll, Columbia, drugs, drug bosses and rebels, not to mention rescuing hostages. These type of people were ruthless in their own twisted self-righteous way. They would kill you with no remorse. She would never cut them any slack. Ever. Filth like these left her the only one standing from that mission all those years ago. She would make them afraid. Very afraid. And she would reign in their fear.

**LINELINELINELINE**

The Kazekage chatted idly with the group leader, but he did notice that Tifa was more than displeased with the Sound nin. He had rarely seen her glare like that. Gaara, her glares would be threatening. Him, her glares would be annoyed. Them now, her glares were that of pure loathing and hatred. He would ask about it when they were alone. It was not professional to do so in front of their escort. And he did not mind. They had no reason to trust them. And having merely one peron as escort might be warning enough for their skills.

Soon enough they went through a well hidden entrance into an underground facility. As per expected, he was welcomed by no other than Orochimaru himself.

'I trust your trip was pleasant, Kazekage-sama?'the man smiled charmingly at him, a deceivingly warm outward appearance gracefully showering them.

If it was possible, the woman glared even harder. The Kazekage was pretty sure they all had noticed her nothing less than hostile attitude and he really felt good about bringing her with him, especially when the Snake Sannin reevaluated his false attitude to something less disturbing. The Kazekage smirked under his mask. There would be several interesting days ahead. He was sure of it.

'It was. The company was good and there were no sand storms.'the Kazekage answered idly, gesturing towards Tifa, who merely gave a slight nod.

'I see. And who is this?'

'This is Tifa, she is my bodyguard for this mission.'

'Only one?'

'Quite capable, that woman is. Nothing less of what Suna can offer.'

Orochimaru smirked. The woman's eyes narrowed. She was too damn suspicious and paranoid to be to his liking but whatever floated the Kazekage's boat.

'I believe you would like to rest before we star? Please follow me. We were just about to serve dinner.'the Kazekage and Tifa followed him through the maze of tunnels.

Tifa spent the short trip trying to observe their path but found it impossible in the maze they were in. She did however note the amount of hidden traps and also studied Orochimaru as he passed by several of his ninja. While he seemed completely relaxed and all host like, she could not help but noticed how reserved he actually was. Work was going full speed in Sound and no amount of need to appear completely lax could stop that work. Among ninja she could spot several people with white coats, some Medic nin, some scientists. She felt the faint scent of a laboratory in the air. She knew that scent well. Fiona had the bad habbit of leaving some chemicals lying about. She could distinctly smell the ingredients of several chemicals, some of which were explosive, others for medical use.

She was glad the two of them were still wearing masks. She wondered if the Sannin or his men would try anything. She also wondered if the food would be safe to even look at here. On another note, she vaguely fancied the idea of it moving. That made her smirk. It was an old joke, one that Fia often overplayed. It went something of the sort: Food would move if the ingredients were grown in a lab environment. Ridiculous but still kind of funny.

A spectacled red haired girl swiftly passed them by. She was holding several books. Tifa mentally noted her appearance. It was Karin. Well, the world was small.

Soon enough Orochimaru led them to a lounge where he more than discreetly offered to leave their luggage to the servants to send to their rooms. In other words, he wanted the Kazekage to get rid of Tifa. The soldier guessed that the Kazekage agreed to it due to the fact he wanted a private chat with the man. How he could even trust his own diplomatic status to be alone in a room with the pedo-bastard was beyond her.

Since she couldn't do anything about it, she followed two servant girls to some rooms not too far away and dumped her equipment there. She was not worried about her weapons as she had them all with her.

'Sand nin-san, we would like to request to visit our dojo's and training grounds if staying in your room all evening is not to your liking.'one of the girls spoke. Tifa eyed her interestedly. Just from the way she spoke and bowed, she guessed what the majority of the life of this girl was. She felt for her but did not show it. No one deserved to be used as a tool to fuck and clean for you. She did not seem to be older than 16 either. She was kinda cute even if she could see nothing special about her. The appearance could've been a mask for a well trained Kunoichi, though she doubted that Orochimaru was able to produce good spies from his rough brutes of a Kunoichi material.

'Please take me to one of the training grounds them, my aim needs some work out.'She spoke idly to the girl, her tone the usual cool. Not that she really needed the work out. She had to entertain herself somehow.

The girls bowed again and lead her through the maze of underground corridors. She seemed relaxed with only a scowl of Superiority and the air of a warlord about her. In fact she was ready to split some skulls within milliseconds.

The two servant girls lead her to a surprisingly vast underground cavern of a training ground where there seemed to be a class of some sorts with newly graduated Gennin. There was an older nin who was explaining something while two other nins were sparring with each other. The spar stopped along with the speech the man was giving, and all of them turned around to look at Tifa. She had to give it to them to handling her so well. She was scary and formidable and they weren't doing much to hide their interest.

While she looked over the crowd and calmly walked over to the senior ninja to request a spar, she did not notice a pair of wide eyed violate eyes staring at her in disbelief. If anyone was not looking at Tifa with interest, they would have noticed the black haired pale Kunoichi gaping at the Sand ninja with something a kin to horror and realization.

How was this possible? Were there others here? The Kunoichi had to find a way to speak with her at all costs. They had to know what was going on even if it would cost her her life. The situation was far more dangerous that even she realized, especially now that Orochimaru was preparing for a new attempt. She hoped she would find a way to get the hell out of here soon, because she did not know how long would it take for the current host to hold Orochimaru. If it wasn't long, she would be next.

_**A/N: I hope you like this chapter. Things are starting to pick up pace and I promise to write more soon. I really had a lot to work concerning my university, so please forgive me the long wait. There were several things which I redid in this chapter, mainly sending the Kazekage with Tifa on this so called mission. About who this person is, I think most of you would correctly guess Orochimaru. Next chapter will contain a spar between Tifa and the Sound ninja instructor guy and then a very interesting dialogue between Tifa and Sylvia Bri. That's just the obvious that I am saying though. There are just too many things I want to write down and so little time for myself.**_

_**Another pair becomes somewhat obvious, namely Tifa and the Kazekage. Sylvia will present a very interesting development to the story, bar the warning she has for Tifa. Gaara and Charlie will have an encounter in a few chapters and Itachi will also make a very awesome appearance in a chapter all by himself and Kisame. I'm contemplating on Jiraya's appearance and also whether I should put a bit more importance in Fia's family. Misoshi Romero will also turn up soon enough as the beginning of the series approaches.**_

_**Fiona, MJ and L-chan will probably take a while to appear again as I am setting the stage for the serious, adventure and suspense stuff. **_

_**Well, read and review! Tata!**_


	30. Revelations

Chapter 30

_**I feel guilty for the several next pages of text but I believe they are a nessecary evil. Forgive me for abusing this OC in inhuman ways by the hands of Snakey-booboo.**_

Sylvia of Sound

Orochimaru was one of the most horrible evil bastards in the universe. Way up there with Dr. Mengele and Dr. Doom and...uh...Voldemort!

Indeed, her arrival was not expected in the Oto hideout, but she knew it was him that had summoned her into this world. She loathed his very existence. Him and Masashi Kishimoto by extension. She wished he had killed her then and there, when she had popped into his domain. He was a psychopath. She shuddered.

Sylvia Bri woke up in a cold barren cell with little to no light from the small crack beneath the solid wooden door. She found herself huddled in a fetal position on a small wooden bench which seemed to represent her bed. Everything hurt, especially the crook of her neck. Like it was bitten by something poisonous. Now fully awake, the pain had become excruciating. She wanted to die. It was hard to breathe with so much pain coursing across her. Her skin was on fire, as if peeling itself from the extreme burning sensation. Something was moving beneath her skin like tentacles of pure lightning. Despite all of this, her thoughts were clear, as if the sensations alone, no matter how horrid, could not take a hold of her consciousness. Acid dripped in her veins and arteries. She felt nauseaous with the amount of it all. But she was still there. As if she had to bear this hell till the very end. What had she done to deserve this.

She remembered well. He had asked her to eat breakfast with him. She was seated on a chair near him. After several attempts on his side to ask her something in a way that she would understand, he had given up and continued on with his breakfast. Slowly, she started nibbling on her own set of breakfast. So far she hadn't tasted anything strange. He was soon done and was now waiting patiently for her to finish as well.

The last bite was eaten and he smiled gently, softly at her, as if staring at a prized possession. She did not like this expression. He had stood up and she had followed suit. Orochimaru lead her through the door and across the halls where she found herself surrounded by men and women in white coats. She had panicked but it was too late. His fangs had sunk deep into her flesh. There was only blackness...

She wanted to cry but she had no strenght. There was only this world of pain. Why did it hurt so much? What was going on? So many things ran through her head and yet no answers came. Slowly, she started praying to whatever deity would hear her to end her suffering.

She had no way of knowing this, but the entire time she had been monitored. Orochimaru's men were fascinated.

'She is not supposed to be awake. I have never seen anything like this!'one of the scientists exclaimed.'Someone go get Orochimaru-sama! He has to see this for himself!'

Sylvia Bri was in the Dungeon part of the hideout. She was in a holding cell designed for the bearers of the curse mark. In truth, the phenomenon that was transpiring, was caused by the fact that her body did not need chakra, and yet now it had chakra. The sensations of pain were superficial, even if they were so tremendous she had no way of telling. She would've died many times. She should've died. But her organs and her nervous system were not connected to her chakra, they were not intertwined in it. Chakra was superficial to the body, in the sense of existing.

Orochimaru found himself soon enough staring at the now naked girl, placed on one of the tables in the lab. She was in such tremendous pain she had barely registered being moved. The cursed seal had spread itself across her entire body and was moving, coursing through it vehemently, sporadically, violently. It slightly pulsed in the sense it faded minutely with her heartbeats. He had never seen such a reaction to the seal.

While she was not fighting its effects per se, her body was rejecting her entire chakra system in order to protect itself. The seal had corrupted her very core, he could feel it. Her body was now rejecting the core while producing new chakra.

He wondered how that was even possible. It was not. That was his only reasonable explanation. Through his many experiments he had learned a lot about the chakra systems. Chakra systems did not regenerate. Once fully grown, they could only expand with the accumulation of physical excersise and performing various jutsu to strenghten the control. This woman, however, was rejecting her core and producing a new...

Her core was still IMMATURE! His eyes widdened and he grabbed for one of the girl's arms. He could feel the unhealthily vast amounts of chakra being expelled, only to be consumed by the Curse Seal with ever-groing speed. Both of his hands now pressed down on her shoulders, trying to pull her out of her fetal position.

He wanted to see a more thorough effect of the Curse Seal. He summoned snakes and bound her to the table, all the while she was writhing in tremendous pain. Her shiny black hair was now clamped in sweaty locks. Her entire body was tense with agony, her toes were curled , her nails were digging into the table, all the while he was genlty caressing her, feeling for her chakra.

Orochimaru wished he had a Hyuuga amongst his men. He was certain that they would've seen remarkable things.

For the several next hours the Cursed seal ate away on her chakra, while slowly, very slowly, pure chakra was forming a separate system underneath the old, corrupted one. Ner tenketsu points were openning, a new core was forming. After what seemed like an eternity for the both of them (though for different reasons) the pain subsided and finally, so did the Cursed Seal.

In essence, the Cursed Seal had forced the core to rapidly expand. Due to its corrosive effects, however, the body had rejected it, while still very small, in the favor of creating a new system for the chakra to flow through.

Now, this girl, Sylvia Bri, had two chakra cores. One was connected to the Cursed Seal, and the other was not. He was fascinated.

Sadly, the acquisition of a second core was probably going to exclude her from the list of potential hosts for himself. But there was plenty of time to find out if that was viable or not.

He circled her around the table. Her breathing was laboured and there were callouses and bruises forming from where the snakes had bound her. Her eyes were staring unseeingly into the white ceiling.

He came closer to her and started caressing her cheek. He whispered soothingly into her ear. Slowly, she turned to him and stared into his eyes. Her vivid purple eyes locked onto his glinting golden ones and she expressed all of her hatred into that glare she tried to pull off. Darkness consumed her once more and the last thing she remembered was his evil smirk.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Restoration was a slow process and it had taken Sylvia several days before she was successfully able to stand on her own. Right now her mind was mostly void of all thoughts, focusing mainly on the need to survive. She needed to gather strenght and stamina in order to escape. From what she knew, there would be ninja villages that would help her, even if they did not trust her. She had no idea how to escape, however, and right now she was concentrating on the small baby steps she was making.

After she had woken up a few days after the painful Curse Seal ordeal, she had felt a tremendous change within her. She did not feel herself different. She felt, however, an inner power of sorts, coursing through her. When she concentrated on that fowing feeling, it intensified, and a few times she swore she could see a faint blueish glow about her hands when her concentration was the greatest. Of course, that always startled her and she lost her concentration and there went her progress.

To her surprise she was soon enough moved to a more hospitable room. It was an actuall room with a bed and all those stuff and even its own bathroom. She was not allowed to leave, however, and she was also fed three times a day, along with several different sets of pills. When she had looked questioningly at the nurse who was bringing her the meals and pills, she had merely mumbled something and then she had left her.

Calculating her chances she had eaten the pills as well as her meals.

After a week worth of time Orochimaru had come with a ordinary looking kunoichi and had slowly tried to explain something to her. When she did not appear to understand her, he had shaken his head and had sighed, and then left the two women alone.

He had brought her a teacher.

Oh so slowly, she was progressing with the hard language that was Japanese. On top of the homework she had, the kunoichi started making her do simple excercises, which she had no choice but to comply to.

Time dragged itself but she was eventually allowed to leave her room, with the escort of a ninja. She began to capture single words, then phrases and then entire sentences in Japanese. She was understanding.

Once the communication barrier was a bit less of a problem, her Sensei had taken her to the dojo where there were young children, about 10 or so, training. Her first few futile attempts at taijutsu were laughed at, but she appeared to have ample chakra control, which thoroughly shut them up, especially when she copied her Sensei's water walking excersize. All that meditating had helped her out, as it appeared.

The second group training session was not as lenient. The children were a cruel bunch of hooligans, in Sylvia's opinion, and she was often laughed at for being such a weak fighter.

After her third session, the fear of being dubbed as weak finally kicked in, and she began fighting back harder and harder, slowly improving her taijutsu and her stamina in the process.

Life in Oto was nothing less but harsh and cruel. Tests were made on her and others regularly. She was ordered to use the Cursed Seal, something she had yet to manage perfectly at this point. It was painful and tiring. And the training was getting oh so more and more relentless.

Her perfect pale complexion now bore several scars and callouses, especially on her arms fromt the training. Her hair was now longer, her body was more fitter, she could see the muscles in the mirror.

She could also see the outer change. Her eyes were now staring at her with animosity, and down right hostility. Her face was fixed into a slight frown. Her black shiny hair was now longer, more spikier and wild. Little more could be said about her equipment. Apart from her kunai and shuriken, she had done everything she could think of to make the clothing a bit more closer to Fashion-common sense. One of the few things that she found proud of here was the fact she was of the more beautiful Kunoichi.

Apparently Orochimaru had ordered no one to touch her outside of training. Other girls were not as lucky. She was special and the entire hideout knew so. Most of the steered clear from her, distrust evident in their eyes. Sylvia could not blame them. She was the same way.

Loneliness was hitting her hard. Also nostalgia. She missed her home. She wanted her old life back. Only the relentless, constant training kept things out of her mind. She used to dream. Now she did not. She was too tired at night and usually blacked out for several hours before waking up early in the morning to change clothes and to take a long shower. That also helped.

Still, a small voice from deep within kept saying it would be nice to have someone to talk to. She was not the type of person to seek out companionship. She was an orphan, and as such, she had learned to take care of herself. She was what most referred to as a loner. She liked her alone time, and apart from her duties as a Oto nin in training, she talked to noone.

One day that had changed.

They were changing bases and since she was not an authorized Oto nin yet, she was one of the people who had been tasked with helping to clear out the hospital wing. There she had met him. The calm, pale boy with long silvery hair. He looked like a sickly angel.

Kimimaru was taller and more muscular than her, but he was also so ghastly, so sickly pale. By some stroke of fate, she was ordered to help him move to the other hideout. He was not like the rest of them. He was gentle, kind. It was in his eyes.

She smiled at him. Her first real smile for a very long time. The boy seemed surprised at her attitude, but then his expression went back to normal.

'Hello. I am Sylvia. I was sent here to help you.'

'I am Kimimaru of the Kaguya clan.'

It was a simple, short conversation that had transpired, but also one that spoke vollumes. After the trek they spent together, she started visiting him occasionally, bringing flowers and some of her own cooking to his room whenever she could.

He always found it strange how she tried to fix his hair, help him up when he tried to sit up and so on.

'Your accent. You're not local.'

'I am not.'

Most of her sentences were short. Her vocabulary was not rich.

'You don't know a lot of the language?'

'I don't.'

That seemed to intrigue him. How had she ended up here when he doubted she could've understood Lord Orochimaru. She had seen his perlplexed expression and answered before he could ask.

'Pop! Summoned.'

'Like the Kuchiose?'

She had nodded. He was the first person she had ever told about how she came to be here.

'You are far from home?'

Her face darkened as she lowered her head.

'Very far. No way back. I think.'

She nurveously fiddled with the hem of her jacket. Kimimaru stared at her for a while and then gently took her hand into his. He smiled weakly and lay back down again closing his eyes. He knew what it was like to be all alone. He hoped she would be able to find a home here in Oto. He would be there for her, as long as he could in his condition. He felt her hand squeeze his back.

**LINELINELINELINELINE**

'Come!' Kimimaru hushed almost excitedly.

Today was one of his good days. He seemed almost well even if he still was so ghastly pale. He was holding her hand and was swiftly leading her towards an unknown part of the hideout. It was deeper than the rest and she had an unnerving feeling about it. He was leading her to meet a friend of his.

It was a sector with tight security, that much she could gather from the dangerous fellows they passed by. Several of them quietly greeted Kimimaru. She went closer to him, in case something happened.

'It's Ok.' he looked at her for a second and she tried to smile but only managed a slightly distressed grimace.

Soon they reached their destination.

It was the cell with tightest security.

'Juugo!'Kimimaru called out. 'Come over! I've brought a friend.'

Something moved within the shadows of the cell and Sylvia's grip on Kimimaru's hand tightened. She silently gulped as a tall figure emerged. She was fairly tall. Orochimaru and Kimimaru were tall. This Juugo fellow was VERY tall. He was like a giant and for some reason her mind associated him with a viking.

Juugo was also very muscular, of powerful regal build with a powerful aura about him. His eyes were kind and hesitant looking and his light auburn hair was glinting from the artificial light from the closest lamp.

'Kimimaru, you know it isn't safe. I'm dangerous.'the large man's eyes darted nurveously towards Sylvia, who was now looking curiously at him. His voice had this soft quality to it that contrasted with his powerful regal build.

'Don't worry, Juugo. As long as I am here, she will be safe. I wanted her to meet you.'Kimimaru smiled gently at his friend. 'Sylvia-san, this is my best friend Juugo. Juugo, this is Sylvia.'

Sylvia felt how one hand gently pushed her forward and she shily came closer. She felt uncomfortable with how hesitant the large man looked.

'H-hello. I brought you some home-made cookies. I hope you like cookies.'She smiled at him and pulled out a small box from her back pack. She stepped forward and her hands went beyond the bars of his dark cell. She saw him swiftly pulling back, as if the box was going to explode any second.

'It's ok Juugo. The cookies are really delicious. She made you several kinds. My favourite are the forest fruit ones.' Kimimaru opened the door to his cell and calmly, along with Sylvia, entered. One of his hands was gently placed around her shoulders, in a comforting manner. Juugo was almost literaly hugging the wall, his eyes wide with fear.

'Juugo.'Kimimaru spoke softly.'As long as I am here, nothing will happen.'

Yet again he gently pushed forward Sylvia, who stepped forward and handed him the box with the cookies. She smiled shyly at the giant of a man, as he gently and oh so tentively took the box from her and opened it.

He picked up a cookie and stared at the strange treat. He sniffed it slightly and nibbled on it, after which he quickly put the whole cookie in his mouth, savoring the sugary taste.

'This is really good. I don't remember when last i ate something as delicious. Thank you Sylvia-san.'

Juugo took another cookie and this time ate it slowlier than his first. It was a forest fruit cookie.

The three of them sat in silence while Juugo slowly devoured his cookies. The large man now seemed more relaxed.

'So, Sylvia-san, tell me more about yourself.'

She smiled, while choosing her words carefully.

'I am not from around here. I pop! Like Kuchiose. I like to cook and to sew. I was summoned and got a Cursed Seal. I am training. I don't know the language very well. Kimimaru helps me a lot.' She smiled at the silver-haired boy and then turned to Juugo again.'What about you?'

'I am dangerous. I am locked here because I can't control myself. It's for the safety of others.' the large man looked sadly at the box he was holding.'Only Kimimaru comes to visit.'

For an hour or so they did small talk. Sylvia finally felt as if she found some peace in this crazy ninja environment. She felt slightly better at the prospect of having someone to talk to.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Visiting Juugo soon became a solo endeavor on her part as lately Kimimaru's illness seemed to take greater and greater tolls from him. The poor boy was often completely bed ridden with many various systems the only thing keeping him alive. She, of course, visited when she could, bringing warm delicous food and often some new clothes to Kimimaru.

Juugo also received several shirts from her which he was very thankful for. Her company compensated for the lack of Kimimaru's but both of them often talked about him, hoping to somehow find a way to help him. Sylvia sometimes brought along messages from Juugo to Kimimaru and the other way around, keeping herself busy when she had the time.

Word had spread of her great cooking and also of how well she wielded the needle and thread. More often than not did random ninja stop by her room to ask to fix a hole here, a rip there or to make them some clothes. She managed to gather a small fortune in no time this way. It was those money that she was to use after she escaped.

It was not a surprise when she took her first Hitai-ate. She was progressing well, especially with her elemental affinities- earth and water. The extra chakra core also helped as when her first one ran out, she instinctively reached for the second one before pulling on the power of the Cursed Seal. It was one of the reasons why it was hard for her to leech from the Cursed Seal- she had to bypass the second chakra system.

Orochimaru was quite pleased with her progress and more often than not set her fighting against tougher oponents. One of the things he had noticed while experimenting with her in varuous ways was that her chakra system expanded even further, especially under stress. This new course of events told him that her cores had yet to completely develop. It was a pleasing fact, since she already had large chakra reserves and outstanding chakra control. Her Taijutsu was still relatively weak but was improving rapidly as well.

He had reached her complete limits several times, meaning draining her chakra completely and she was still alive. Blood samples showed that she had some sort of unknown trait, something that he had not seen before but was vaguely familiar. The closest match was that of the Shodaime Hokage, but it was nothing even remotely close to it. It was possible, however, that she may be able to use the Mokuton. So far she was not able to combine her two elemental affinities in such a way.

Also, Orochimaru was intrigued by the young woman's relationship with Kimimaru and then with Juugo. The three of them genuinely shared a close friendship, one that was almost making him consider putting them into one team. The only problem was that Sylvia was far bellow in terms of skill compared to them, and Juugo was too uncontrolable. Furthermore, he had yet to earn the girl's loyalty, even if she hasn't shown any signs of trying to escape. She was obviously biding her time. She would make an excellent Kunoichi, the Snake Sannin mused.

**LINELINELINE**

'Ne, Kimimaru-kun, I am glad you are feeling well today.'Sylvia smiled softly at her friend. He seemed thinner than what would have been healthier for him and he also seemed very tired. But it was quite an improvement from last week and she was happy that he could once again walk about the hideout's halls with her. He also had promiced her to let her watch him train. Maybe she could pick up something from him? She was excited, concidering it was said he was one of Orochimaru's best.

Soon enough the two of them were at an empty dojo. Kimimaru started doing his katas and Sylvia started stretching. His movements were fluent and perfect. It was something to be envious of. But the thought of how much pain he was going through while doing them made her heart clench. He was still a kid. And no one deserved to go through what he was going. Kimimaru was a boy of formidable will and inner strenght, things she admired greatly in him. He was also such a gentle and noble character. She often referred to him and Juugo as her knights. The word was foreign to them but from her detailed explanation (as much as her small vocabulary allowed) they managed to get the gist of it.

Kimimaru started practicing some of his more simple jutsu, something that always made her wide-eyed. She was not a big Naruto fan, not at all even. But everyone and their mother had watched at least the Chuunin exams from the anime. She had seen a few Kimimaru cosplayers and knew that he had this weird bone ability. Seeing it was a whole new degree of awesome. His fluid movements combined with that bone sabre of his were almost as fascinating as blood. Speaking of blood she was already studying several different water jutsu that could be used within the human body. She was as of yet to try any of them out of fear from the damage it might cause. It was caused by that small Blood style jutsu she had stumbled upon one day. She used it on a pack of blood. The results were freakish enough to make her stick to the basics a while longer. She did, however, know several blood replenishing jutsu and also several healing jutsu (although minor ones). She practiced the minor Healing ones on her fellow ninja. Apparently not everyone had the knack for healing or had the required chakra control and capacity. Even though she was older than most of the nin she worked with, she was quick to improve, taking in the ninja training like sponge. She wondered if that was a side effect from the transdimentional jump. On a side note: Orochimaru should roll over, catch fire, burn to a crisp, and then promptly crumble into ashes which would then be scattered by the breezes. Happy thoughts for happy moments.

'Sylvia-san! Let me show you something.'Kimimaru called her over. She looked at him with interest and ran to his side.

Kimimaru was holding out one of his palms and was concentrating chakra, much like the same way she did at the begining. Soon the chakra seemed to thicken and then sink back into his palm. Instantaneously, bone matter started growing out of his palm. It was a much more slower version of the usual rate in which he grew bone matter. Slowly a small bone sphere formed which then proceded to grow and then, to her great surprise, bloomed into a rose. It was an Ivory rose.

Her eyes widened as he handed her the small jewel of a flower and enclosed her hand with his. It was an extremely sweet gesture on his side.

'It is beautiful, Kimimaru-kun!' she exclaimed, holding it up to examine it. It was a perfect replica of a real rose. The petals seemed so delicate and yet she knew that it was probably harder and stronger than steel. Kaguya bone matter was extremely tough to break.

'I've been practicing. To keep myself occupied.'

And interestic fact and also something that must be noted was that the way Kimimaru expelled chakra was not taught in the Nin training program. It was something he had told her on a few occasions that he did naturally, by instinct. It was something that came from being part of the Kaguya clan.

While everyone could expell chakra and mold it with training, children with a bloodline did so subconsciously, knowing somehow exactly what to do with their chakra in order to express their bloodline.

Something in the way Kimimaru had explained that to her made her think about how she played about by focusing on her 'flow' as she had called it then.

As Sylvia gazed at the rose, her brows furrowed in concentration and soon enough her own hands were covered by blueish energy- chakra. Nothing happened. She sighed and sat on the ground, followed by Kimimaru who was watching her with interest.

'Kimimaru-kun. I can expell the chakra like you, but nothing happens.'

'That's because you dont have my kekkei genkai.'

'Yes, I know.'

She seemed slightly fustrated at her inability to elaborate further. She put away the rose in one of her pockets and placed her hands on the ground slightly behind her, shifting her weight to them. She concentrated once again on that flow feeling, closing her eyes.

The ground rumbled and erupted beneath her. She snapped her eyes open, yelped in surprise and felt how Kimimaru pulled her away with ninja speed.

A small bush stood on her spot.

'Did-did I do that?' she asked weakly.

'I think so.' Kimimaru blinked a few times, staring at the small tree and then at her. One hand was holding the hand with which he had pulled her away while the other was protectively pressing her against his chest. She could hear his heart beat and his shallow even breaths.

After a few minutes they let go of each other and examined the small tree. Kimimaru crouch beside it, rubbing his chin thoughfully. He pulled at it to find it strongly rooted to the ground. He conjured a long pick like bone and started digging out the ,as it turned out, shallow but thickly intertwined rooths. As he pulled away the tree from the ground, both of them gave them a good thorough look.

'Mokuton.'he stated thoughtfully while gazing the peculiar form of the roots. They matched the ley lines of the expelled chakra.'The ability to combine earth and water and create wood.'

The boy looked at her.

'Try again.'

'How?'

'Do whatever you did. Expell chakra to the ground. Try to control the flow. Make it slow and see if you can direct the result.'

She nodded slowly, trying to assimilate some of the new words he used and then pressed both hands to the ground. Oh so timidly and slowly did she start to expell chakra. It was different this time. The wood emerged from the ground gently and elegantly and she slowly raised her hands from the ground. Sweat appeared on her forehead from the amount of concentration she was working up. Her hands twisted slowly in one direction and the wood sprout followed. It was not even close to Kimimaru's perfect control, but the end result was a very irregular looking helix which had gone up and then twisted down around itself. Once she was through, Sylvia collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.

'That's really good for a first time.' Kimimaru complimented and sat beside her on the ground. He plucked out the helix-like structure and examined the 'root' part. It was no roots but it was something that bordered the area of effect of her expelled chakra. There were also these almost microscopic like growths on it, indicatic fluctuations of the chakra ley lines. It was amazing for him to examine that. While he knew that Orochimaru had a thing for people with kekkei genkai, he also knew that his type of kekkei genkai was rather rare and not many people could use elements in a similar fashion like him. He felt a new sort of kinship towards Sylvia. She was in a way a lot like him. He smiled at her and wiped the sweat from her forehead. He looked forward to more training.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Orochimaru was extatic. He had a Mokuton kekkei genkai! One that he of all people SUMMONED! He couldn't wait to repeat the summoning ritual. What if next time he managed to find more people with similar powerful abilities? He needed to refine the seals of the jutsus. He needed to focus everything within the summoning chamber. He knew that soon enough he would have his dreams come true. He would be able to learn all jutsu. The vastness of knowledge was before him in the form of these people from another realm. He did not press the girl for information as she did not know the language well enough. What was interesting was that she did know SOME of the language they used in this universe, which lead him to believe there was a possibility there were people who spoke it fluently.

Another problem that was constantly running through his thoughts was that of the no-chakra-paradox that the girl presented. She had accumulated chakra when she had been forced to 'jump' through dimension. He suspected she had gained chakra due to the specific requirements of this universe.

Once he felt secure enough, he would start experimenting with sending things to that particular realm until he found it to his satisfaction and safe enough to use to explore it on his own.

Right now the most urgent matter on his hands was training the Mokuton kekkei genkai the girl possessed. He made sure to take several genetical samples from her to later attempt and recreate the kekkei genkai. While Mokuton was no Sharingan, it was just as powerful, possessing the ability to subdue tailed beasts and other such demons and creatures. He was pretty certain it could also ensnare his Cursed Seal due to its nature but he had yet to test that. She needed training and Kimimaru was a great help in that department.

It was a pity that the boy was so ill. He could've made a perfect host until he could get his hands on that last Uchiha in Konoha (Sasuke was it?). Kimimaru adored him to a fault, something he felt himself wish more of his servants did. Most feared him. Others were after the power he so deceitfully offered.

Still, as he thought about it, it seemed that most of his plans were coming to fruition lately. He hoped that this streak of luck would hold out through his more important ministrations such as the up comming Chuunin Exams. He had been leading an intriguing correspondence with the Fourth Kazekage, a man who was rather too full of himself for the current state of Wind Country. From what he gathered from both this correspondence and his own informants, the man was hoping to offer well trained ninja to work with Sound in order to 'raise their relationship status' which, if read between the lines, was actually a way to mooch money from Sound missions. Through carefully placed suggestions he had somehow managed to convince the man that a great way to get back clients was to attack their allies, the Leaf ninja, aka Konoha, Fire Country. In this last letter that he was now reading, the Kazekage had agreed to meeting him in one of Sound's hideouts. It was a perfect opportunity for Orochimaru to further integrate the idea of an invasion. While proud and loyal to Suna, and not to mention a skilled ninja, the man was too stuck up in his own power to notice the Snake Sannin's manipulative games.

He looked over the letter again and noted that he was probably already on his way here. He should set out an escort.

**LINELINELINE**

The news that the Kazekage was coming to visit spread like wildfire in the hideout and soon enough even Sylvia knew. As far as she was concerned, these cotton pants needed a bit more sewn ornaments here or there to add a little character. She was not interested in outsiders. Not at this point.

She moved one pant leg to its other side and started threading the needle. It was black thread, the same color as the pants, but she was sure that Kimimaru would appreciate this little gesture. Once that side was finished, she put away her work and went over to the bathroom to take a quick shower before going to the training field. The more experienced ninja were going to spar and they were going to observe. Then she and the rest of the newly graduated would spar with each other. Orochimaru occasionally visited and those who did best usually earned a day worth of rest or even a scroll with a new jutsu. She usually ended up as average or above average, but as stated earlier, she was quickly improving.

She dressed in her usual outfit and took her back pack with her. The treck to the training field was uneventful and she found herself seated among many other genin. Their Sensei this time was a seasoned ex-missing Nin with a mask that covered most of his face and his Hitai Ate was around his forehead. All she could see was his pitch black eyes, as harsh and merciless as any of the older Sound nin. His assistants were some ninja she was seeing for the first time. They were her age or younger, also wrapped up in typical Sound garments. By the looks of things this was going to be yet another boring demonstration of sound style jutsu. She sighed. Was she even supposed to be there? Sound jutsu were an absolute-not in her arsenal as she had a zero sound affinity if there even was such an affinity (which she doubted deeply within her heart of hearts).

She yawned and was prepared to take out a notepad and doodle ninja equipment when the Sensei suddenly shut up and looked at one of the entrances to the dojo. Most of the group turned to see a tall, muscular silver-haired woman with some kind of metal tube weapon strapped to her back. Sylvia's eyes widened. She knew who this was.

Tifa. The infamous Hidan Cosplayer.

She gaped. She was not alone.

**LINELINELINE**

'Excuse me, but you are late and therefore...'

'I am a Sand ninja and therefore I come when I please.' There was a distinct air of superiority about her, not to mention the note of killer intent.

'We were not informed we would have a guest.' The Sound ninja was marginally correct. While they all knew they would have the Sunan contigement for a week or so, they were not informed of any of them wanting to spar or train right away. Wasn't the long road LONG and tedious? Did they not need rest? The woman seemed fresh and ready for brawl. Good for her. Now he would show how Sound nin fought against real ninja.

'I presume you were brought here to train?'

'You presume too much, Sound ninja. I came here to spar. All that walking has left me slightly... anxious for a fight or three.'she smirked devously, a dangerous glint in her hazel eyes.

Tifa was still wearing the typical Sunan nin garments, with a beige cloth wrapped around her head as a mask. Only her eyes were visible . And they were sharply glaring at everything. She was not to be trifled with.

'Very well. Togo, Tsume.'he motioned his two subbordinates to leave the sparring area. Once it was only him there, he bid her to come over.

The woman strode to the edge of the sparring circle and left her Bazooka and backpack there. She stepped into the area with only bare arms as weapons.

'You wish to fight only hand to hand?' the Sensei questioned, his voice but a hint of mocking.

This time she grinned toothily, letting out a bit more killing intent. It would be nice to explain, that she had learned this neat killer intent trick from Gaara while he wasn't watching. She found it her favourite pass time while waiting. It scared the crap out of the other ninja. She liked her new position. She was sure to use it once they went back home. The mental state was half the battle, her father would always say.

'Give me your worst.'she half-laughed, taking a typical offensive stance, the one they taught at her old boot camp ( aka her father ).

He sneered at her rather simple stance and handled a Kunai, ready to gut her. The bitch would get what she wanted.

He charged forward, swiftly swinging the Kunai in her general direction. Once he was close enough, she grabbed his arm and spun him around swiftly, then, while still holding his arm, hit him from beneath the elbow, breaking the joint. He screamed in pain, as this was a particularly nasty way to make someone writhe in pain.

The Sensei dropped the Kunai as his arm was all but useless at the moment. He tried to kick her somehow but she was faster and soon enough both knees were broken as well.

In the matter of less than 30 seconds, she had disposed of him in every way short of killing him. The ninja 'trainees' were staring dumbfounded.

'Lesson number one- never underestimate an opponent.

Lesson number two- never attack half-heartedly.

Lesson number three- pay attention. CONSTANT VIGILANCE.

Lesson number four- use simple, but effective techniques. Practice often.

Lesson number five- don't piss me off. It fucking hurts.'

With that she left the circle to gather her stuff and to go back to her room. She was disappointed at the weakness of these Sound ninja. She made a note to mention how weak they were in front of the Pedo-Maister. She slowly walked towards the exit, while enjoying the gaping expressions of the young ninja. She hoped the impact was enough to keep them at bay until she reached the door, but she hoped for too much.

Soon enough she was surrounded by pseudo enthusiasts who were all asking all kinds of Taijutsu questions. She didn't even use anything fancy! Suddenly she felt someone placing a note in her hand and closing her fingers around it into a tight fist before letting go. She caought a glimpse of a pale face with black hair and vivid purple eyes. Just like Elizabeth Taylors. She had a nudging feeling she had seen them before.

Before she could do anything else, she was once again on the sparring area, now cleared of the heavily beaten Sensei, and was now going to fight one of the more formidable looking ninja. He had a Curse Seal, she noted and prepared herself to use at least one gun, if needed. The best way to defeat him was to incapacitate him before he had the chance to get serious.

She knew that right now she did not have the element of surprise and she preferred to keep her aces up her sleeve till the last moment. The less techniques she used, the better. It was funny how most newbies preferred flashy loud techniques to the quiet subtle ones, like the Kawarimi and the Bunshin jutsu. But even though she was a newbie ninja, she was a veteran fighter and she knew the importance of conservation and distribution. Why use a flashy technique with a lot of chakra when, lets say a Kawarimi, could kill the opponent in the right moment. Her favourite basic technique was obviously the Kawarimi. Someone is using projectiles against you that weren't shot out of a gun? Kawarimi yourself with them. Problem fixed. It took timing and skill. She had both being a perfect sharp shooter.

The battle started and the man was casting his first set of seals. He had not noticed when she had substituted herself with him. His fire jutsu went to waste as she was behind him. While he had yet to notice that, she was already round house kicking him in the back of the head. He was down in less than 15 seconds.

The next battle started when a Kunoichi jumped at her and yet again she quickly used a Kawarimi and then a quick chop to the back of the head and she was out.

In only 5 minutes it was a full out brawl. She didn't even have to use her guns. She was revelling in her adrenaline pumped action.

After another 5 minutes most of the newbies lay on the floor defeated. All that extra training had paid off. She smirked and finally pulled out that small piece of paper she was given.

_Room 735, level 7_

It was written in perfect english. Tifa's breath caught up in her troath.

**LINELINELINE**

Two loud distinct knocks were heard.

'Enter.'

Tifa opened the door and saw a nervous looking black haired Sound nin sitting on the bed, waiting for her.

'You speak English.' It wasn't a question.

The woman nodded.

'Do you know how long I've been stuck in here? It's a nightmare.'the woman exhaled shakily and turned towards Tifa. The soldier saw her purple eyes staring intently, desperately at her.'Close the door.'

'What happened?'Tifa had many questions. But this woman obviously was distraught.

'I was throwing out the trash. Next thing I knew was this bright light and voila! I am stuck here like some kind of guinea pig. It was a week after they announced your disappearance on the news. I remember when Light called to tell me to go back home and try not to raise any suspicion with the police... Do you know where the others are? We need to get the hell away from here. He...he is a madman! I don't know how long I would've survived if it wasn't for...'

The woman sighed and stood up. She started pacing about the room.

'I gritted my teeth. It was hell. It was like being turned inside out and then burned. I felt every second of it. The Curse Seal. I cannot escape. Not yet. Orochimaru's the one who brought us here. I thought I was the only one until I saw you. My plans changed. Are the others with you?'

'So the Pedo-bastard is the fucker who got us here? I can try and kill him right now but I doubt I did that much training...Only Charlie is with me. I don't know about the others. If they are here I will find them. What do you have in mind? You said you changed your plans.'

'I will stay as long as I can. I don't like it, nor don't expect me to be all buddie about it, but this man is absolutely mad. What if he tries to go to our world? We have to stop him. I am still trying to earn his trust. I believe the key to going back is whatever jutsu he used to summon us here. It is a form of Kuchiose from what I have gathered.'

'Have you made any friends here? Anyone you could trust?'

'Kimimaru and Juugo. Do you know them?'

Tifa stared at her for a moment. Those two? That was crazy. Kimimaru was a double edged sword and Juugo was loyal only to Kimimaru.

'Kimimaru is Orochimaru's pet on a leash. Juugo is only loyal to him. Don't tell them anything of your plans. The only thing I would suggest is to keep your eyes and ears opened. Try to earn a spot at the Chuunin exams. We will see each other there. I doubt you would be able to do something about the jutsu or whatever shit he used to bring us here. Don't risk your life and keep a low profile. To be honest I am surprised this room isn't surveilanced.'

'They don't have a reason to watch me constantly. I'm an obedient little Mokuton guinea pig.'Sylvia said with disgust.

'Mokuton? Work on it. It will help. And if the Pedo-Maister tries anything on you use all you've got into a big wooden explosion. Try not to get impregnated or anything.'

There was a short period of silence.

'Say, what is your name? I think I've seen you before. And you said you knew Light, the slimy bastard.'

'Sylvia Bri. L cosplayer.'

'I know why you looked familiar. Last year, Kawaii Con. Great costumes, by the way. I like the good competition.' Tifa smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

'I know you as well. Youre Tifanny Mitchels, the crazy Hidan bitch that chases away the police. There are urban legends about you. Do you really carry real guns with you?'

'Does this PanzerKiller look anything less but real to you?'

Sylvia's eyes widdened.

'Didn't the Kazekage request a batch of those the moment you used them?'

'Soulbound, my bloody butchers, they are.' Tifa handed one gun and twirled it a bit. 'Shoot miniature chakra spheres and work only for me. Big ass light show, scares the bloody pansies. Heh.'

'Obviously you had it easier than me.'

'Only because the Kazekage thinks I am a more controlable version of Gaara.'

Silence again.

' So, who is this Charlie you spoke about?'

'The little squirt with the long red hair. Gaara Cos. Mute. Violin Virtuoso.'

'I think I've seen her as well.'

Sylvia's brows furrowed.

'Do you have any ideas where the rest are?'

'Absolutely none. And also no news from them. I am worried about them. What if they ended up in Akatsuki or Ame? I think they might be dead but I try not to worry Charlie. She is sensitive and impressionable.'

Tifa then stared at her wristwatch.

'I really gotta go. The bloody fucker that is my boss will probably want me to report whatever I've been doing. Not a clue in his head the giddie bastard- I haven't told him. He is as dead as fuck soon enough so I didn't bother.'

Sylvia frowned at her. She swore a lot. She didn't say anything though. It was not the time to confront possibly the only ally she had right now.

After a few more minutes the woman was gone and Sylvia let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. She wondered if Kimimaru would like a visit from her. She needed to distract herself from dark and dangerous thoughts.

_**A/N: So, what do you think? I really like the way Tifa talks when she is excited or talking with someone who does not have authority over her. What do you think about the Kimimaru-Juugo-Sylvia interactions? It's a close friendship so far but that's up to you guys. And Tifa's brawl, talk about awesome! She is really neat and conserving when in battle. That shows just how experienced she is. Soldier since day one :D**_

_**I am happy this chapter is complete! Now I will move back to what Charlie and Gaara were doing in the mean time! Tata for now!**_

_**P.S.: The power went out yesterday and we had internet problems too all because of a stupid horrific thunder storm. The sky broke on top of us, I swear. Most of the dark stuff was inspired by said storm. We got the power back up after 3 hours but the neighbours weren't so lucky. Hehe. I like to gloat.**_


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The Liaison

"The ANBU teams will be mostly concentrated around the Stadium's perimeter and the Kage Lounge. The Daimiyo's lounge is protected by their personal guards. Fools, really, They should be feeling lucky we're not after them. The Stadium itself will be almost impossible to take down with the amount of time we have so we need to reconfigure our attack plans concerning the neutralizing of the spectators. What do you think, Kazekage-sama?'

Orochimaru looked up from the map and smirked at the man. His yellow eyes were glinting harshly against the candle's light. The Kazekage was still looking thoughtfully at the map layed before him. Was it really the best course of action? It was yet to be seen.

"You will take on the Hokage. That much we agreed upon. Securing the Stadium will be my Nin's job."

" You're not saying something."

'Not really. I plan on sending a single team to the Chuunin exams. I was merely wondering whether to send another one. As an escort, that is.'

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

'Tifa would like the thought. She would keep Gaara in check until the time is right.'

'So that is what you've been holding back. Please, Kazekage-sama, tell me just how powerful is this Kunoichi for you to speak so calmly of her being able to keep Gaara in check. You have my interest peaked.'

'I don't see how that would be any of your business, Orochimaru of the Sannin. You keep to your part of the deal and I will keep mine. You will have your revenge and your precious Uchiha. I should, however, remind you that you may have trouble luring him to you. My informants tell me he has made some friends recently. Some sudden change of heart.'

Orochimaru's face froze with a small smile on his face. Oh, he knew that well. He would still be able to take him as a host as long as he still desired to avenge his clan. The Chuunin exams would tell.

'Very well, Kazekage-sama. One more thing, before you retire for the night.'

'Yes?'

'Tell that guard of yours, Tifa, to stop harassing the newly initiated genin. If she wants to train so much, then let it be with someone her level. ' A positively wicked, sadistic grin appeared on his face.

'I will send your regards as well, seeing as you wish to see her in a real fight. I have no guarantees on her answer, however, I did hear her mutter the word 'vacation'one time too many last night.'

**LINELINELINE**

'Do you like this Tifa? You spar with her often.'Kimimaru took a bite from his apple. He was calmly gazing at her uncomfortable form with only a hint of inquiry.

'She is... different. Like a real sensei. She doesn't mock you when I do something wrong.'

'She is also a Sand ninja. You shouldn't trust her.'

'I know but...' Sylvia sighed and took another bite from her own apple.

'I understand. Is she trustworthy?'

'She asked the same about you.' she smiled at Kimimaru but then she paled, eyes widening. She realized she shouldn't have said that. 'I uh...'

'You know her, don't you?'

She didn't answer. Her grip on the apple tightened and her knuckles turned white, blood draining from her arms. She wondered what would happen now. Would he turn her over to Orochimaru?

'She is from your world, isn't she?'

The young woman felt light-headed all of a sudden, her heart pounding in her throat.

'Sylvia-chan. Look at me.'

She tried to pull away but her grabbed her and forced her to look at him.

'Do you think I am trustworthy, Sylvia-chan?' he asked with genuine concern in his voice.

'She told me you are only loyal to Him.' her voice was but a low whisper, not really having the strenght to produce real sound.

'Do you think I am trustworthy, Sylvia-chan?'

Her heart told her yes, but her mind was screaming no.

'I- I don't know, Kimimaru-kun. P-please, d-don't...'

He had never seen her so frightened. Ever.

'It's OK, Sylvia-chan. Try to breathe. I will not harm you. You are my friend.'

He let go of her.

She took a few shuddering breaths.

She ran.

Something in him broke.

**LINELINELINE**

She ran all the way to her room. Only when she was safely locked in her room did she break down. Crying away her fustrations. How could she make such a dumb mistake? Tifa had warned her. She hoped Kimimaru would not make much of it. How had he guessed?

**LINELINELINE**

**A bit incomplete but will continue it in a chapter or so.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

**Taming of the Shrew**

When Charlie saw Gaara standing there with a wicked, cruel smile on his face and bloodthirsty, glinting aquamarine eyes, her first instinct was to run.

The only obstacle between them was the kitchen table. She strafed left, but he followed. She swiftly moved to the right with the same results. There was no escape. She made a wild dash for the door behind her, only to disappear along with Gaara in a swirl of sand.

It would be several hours later when Temari and Kankuro would wake up to find themselves i an empty house.

The red heads reappeared again but in the rocky outskirts of what seemed to be the shore line of the vast sea. Charlie took only a moment to survey her surroundings, her attention mostly on Gaara, who was trying with all of his might to sway the sands out of the she-tanuki's grasp.

The air about them was sizzling with power, struggling to move the tiny grains of sand. It was still early and the wind carried the chilly sea breeze up the shore line, creating wispy ghosts of mist here and there. A misty wall surrounded them, unable to perpetrate the power shield about them.

Small beads of sweat appeared on Charlie's forehead, her worried expression transfixed on Gaara's crazed one.

'I will kill you!'Gaara screeched and, finally, sand shout forward at amazing speeds only to crash into Charlie's sand shield.

The petite girl jumped away as several more whisps of sand shot forward. She knew she was not strong enough to fight Gaara, not like this anyway, but she also knew she could hold him back for at least a few hours, according to her tenant.

'Why don't you just die!'roared Gaara, obviously under the influense of the Bijou's power.'You will not take my life away! I will continue my existance!'

No, Charlie thought, she did not want to take his life away. She did not want to kill him, to erase his existence. Shewanted him to be loved again, to be happy. She felt as if her heart was being ripped open every time their chakras clashed. So much pain, so much anguish. So much hatred and malice...

So much loneliness...

No... she had to do something, anything... she just had to...

Gaara's attacks suddenly stopped and his eyes widened in surprise. The girl was gradually covering herself with sand, forming very familiar claws... her Bijou was taking over, but he could not persieve the happenings like that. He saw her as the person who his thrice damned father created to relace him, and her incomplete transformation proved it. Her chakra was slowly prevailing over his.

'No!' he screamed and his power exploded all about him, like a nova of sand.

Charlie shielded her eyes with her hands as she was thrown backwards by the sheer force of the impact. She hit the rock behind her hard, knocking the breath out of her lungs with a high pitched wheeze. She dropped to the ground and lay there motionless for a few moments, trying to recuperate from the impac and to overcome the pain in her back. She was sure she had cracked a rib or two, despite the Taniuki's protection.

She stood up slowly, tears pouring from her eyes. She staggered as she tried to straighten herself, the muscles in her back screaming with even the most minor of movements. Chatlie took a few surprised steps backwards, her back meeting the rocky wall once more, as Gaara stood before her, not even a meter away, his brightly glittering eyes reflecting both his inner turmoil and insanity, and the first rays of the sun as the moment of dawn had arrived.

A part of her resigned to her early untimely death, subduing to the great amounts of power and killer intent Gaara expressed about him. A part of her felt sad for the way their relationship turned out. A great part of her, including the tanuki girl, just wanted to get the hell out of here. And a part of her just wanted to hug him, to tell him he was never going to be alone again, to tell him she was there for him, that she would be his friend.

'Gaara-kun'she tried to say but no sound left her lips.

'Desert coffin'. One hand stretched forward as he spoke his verdict.

Despite how much she struggled, sand swiftly covered a great part of her body. Soon, it was going to be all over, and they both knew it. Only her head was not covered with sand.

'Do you want to replace me! Very well.' his voice was soft, ice cold, filled with utter loathing for her very existence.

Charlie screamed in agony as thin whisps of sand carved out the skin on her forehead. Blood poured down the left side of her face. Pain was all she knew as the sand coffin was slowly squeezing the life away. Her vision was swiftly blackening, as she struggled for each breath.

'Now you are me. Now you will die and become part of me. You will prove my existence... you will appease Mother...'

Her head was also covered in sand. It was over. In those last moments efore her death she realised a few things. She adored Gaara and she forgave him, She wished him a long and successful career as a Kazekage. And most of all, she wished him eternal happiness.

The awaited Desert Burial, howeverm did not come. Slowly, she felt herself breathe the fresh sea air. She opened her eyes and found herself hazily looking at Gaara.

He was kneeling on the ground, cluthing his head with one hand and clutching his chest with the other. Tears were pouring down his shocked face and his entire frame was shaking, trembling.

'Why?' he whispered through hitched breath.

It was all he dared say, but she understood his inquiry. Why did she love? Why did she forgive? Why did she care? Why?

Blackness was yet again seeping into her form and she fought the exhaustion. She managed to drag herself to Gaara and held up one hand to hold the one he was clutching his chest with. She tried to smile as he looked at her with wonder. Her touch was gentle, and her smile, though more resembling a cringe, was true and filled with caring.

'Because I love you, Gaara-kun.' she tried to say, but, as per usual, no sound left her lips.

Her grip lessened and her head lay down on his lap. Her eyes dimmed and closed as exhaustion finally took over.

For a few minutes Gaara just stood there, staring at her petite motionless form. Was this trully what he had felt from her? Was this truly love? She was the cause of that warmth in his chest and the sense of belonging. He still couldn't understand, but as she lay there in his lap, he slowly and tenderly moved several strayed locks of long red hair. She was pretty, almost like a rocelain doll. The blood still seemed to pour from the Ai kanji he had carved on her forhead. He ripped a piece of cloth from his sleeve and wrapped it around her head with gentle care.

The boy picked her up and with a swirl of sand they were gone. Mother was silent. But he could care less. She had never given him love, only loathing and vengeance.


	33. Departure and a Prelude

Chapter 33

Departue and a Prelude

'No.'

'It's a direct order.'

'No.'

'You will shame the whole of Suna if you don't and you brought it upon yourself by harassing the bloody Genin!'

Tifa calmly, cooly took a sip from her morning tea and then turned to look at the Kazekage with a dull 'Are you for real?' expression on her face.

'I only wanted to spar with the jounins there. Not my fault the bloody little squirts jumped me.'

'And that 'squirt' you are so obviously training?'

'She fixed my pants.'

The Kazekage raised an eyebrow. He had many ridiculous conversations before, but this was the icing of the cake.

'We are leaving in three days and Orochimaru wants to see you spar with one of his best. He says that if we do not, he would feel offended. Personally, I don't care what ever the hell he wants, but as long as we are allies we need to tolerate each other. I do not understand WHY you refuse to spar.'

Tifa finished drinking her tea and stood up from her spot. She was clad only in shorts and a sweatshirt, which was quite the pleasing sight for the Kazekage, even if he did not look like it at the moment. Tifa couldn't care less what he wanted her to do, but she had to earn her's and Charlie's stay in Suna. And it wasn't as if he wanted a lot.

'Very well, since you oh so want it so badly, Kazekage-sama.'

She went over to her bag and took some clothes and headed for the bathroom to change. The man exhaled sounlessly, savoring this small victory over the woman's stubbornness. He wondered if she was annoying him just for kicks. Maybe she was, but that pokerface of her betrayed nothing. She was a perfect ninja, with a far less than perfect personality. And a perfect tight ass which he liked to stare at in the morning.

Soon enough, she emerged from the bathroom completely dressed in an appropriate for sparring attire and continued on with arming herself properly, obviously preparing to spar.

The Kazekage made it a point to leave her room and dress himself properly as well. After all, both of them preferred to just eat breakfast together than to frolick about the slime ball that was Orochimaru. And the quiet breakfast time was always calming and relaxing.

**LINELINELINE**

Orochimaru was very pleased one the woman had finally agreed to 'pummel some sound elites' as she had so eloquently put it. She was strong and also very aggressive. Her very nature put even him into a state of higher alertness. It was like dealing with a spiffy venomous snake, one that would strike, lash out, at any particular moment.

It wasn't anything he really wanted to see out of her, but to use her special weapons that she had yet to put into action. Not only that, but she seemed to spend a lot of her time with Sylvia, which made him somewhat suspicious. He would, of course, send Kimimaru to see what the girl was made of.

Speaking of the bone weaver, he and Sylvia seemed to have had some sort of a fight, something that Orochimaru saw as a fall back in his plans. The thing that irritated him the most was the fact that something was going on, and his ninja skills and experience were going crazy, screaming at him that he was missing something vital. For the life of him, Orochimaru could not put a finger on what was wrong.

Of course, he would take the most advantage of the duel that was to his plans were such, Orochimaru called in most of his ninja into his biggest underground training field to watch the spar between Kimimaru and the Tifa woman. And, of course, Kimimaru would find out on the spot he would be sparring with her, and the Outlander woman, Sylvia, would have a front roll seat. Orochimaru had always been a bit of an intrigant, and he couldn't wait to see the three people's reactions.

Would Sylvia try to stop the battle? Would Tifa or Kimimaru win? Would it be a draw? And would the Sunan Kunoichi finally use those strange contraptions of hers?

**LINELINELINE**

Sylvia woke up early that morning, a new feeling of unease layering on top of all her other problems. Something was to happen and somehow she wondered, once again, if what she had done, especially concerning Kimimaru, to be the right thing. She had felt so scared when he had concluded who Tifa was, that even if she could have turned back time and stop herself from running away, things were probably going to turn for the worse.

And what of Kimimaru-kun? Was he ok? Had he given away Tifa's secret that she oh so foolishly blabbered thanks to her carelessness? It was a typical day to be in the Oto headquarters. A typical day where there would be no Tifa around to 'bully'any Sound ninja.

She still had no idea what to do about hers and Kimimaru's relationship, but she had work to do and her emotions were only going to get her into trouble. Sylvia subconsciously rubbed a bruise that was on the back of her left shoulder. She winced slightly at the sharp prickle of pain and decided not to muse upon what would and could have happened. The black haired woman took a few calming breaths and pushed away all and any thoughts. She would run by her routine as she had always done and she would make sure to be one step closer to the Chuunin was her goal and there was more than just the people who lived in Konoha that would suffer- her world, Earth, was at stake as well.

Of course, the first thing to go wrong today was the sudden call all of her group got to go to the grand training field to observe some spar.

Her stomach clenched. Somehow she knew she was involved and that this was some sort of pay back.

Orochimaru stood there when they had entered, wearing his most menacing sneer. She could not help but gulp when he looked at her, the cold yellow eyes piercing her, as if laughing at her. She knew something was up, her suspicious glare in return spoke as much.

'I see you have brought most of them, Kuro-san.' Orochimaru spoke calmly to the ninja next to him.'Very well. Tifa-san, please stand in the middle, your opponent will be here soon enough.'

How hadn't she noticed Tifa was there? And apparently and that wretched Kazekage, too, was there. Unlike the days before, this time Tifa's face was not covered by a mask and one of the things that surprised most of the ninja there was her typically male hair cut. Her piercing glare-sneer was sending the clear message of 'So what? Back off!'.

'Kimimaru-kun, please step forward.' Orochimaru almost purred.

Sylvia's blood ran cold. What was he planning to do? Force her to choose sides? For a second, she felt her world colapsing, and her knees almost buckled.

Of course. He wouldn't be Orochimaru if he didn't weave his complex web of intrigue. At this point, she felt that Tifa, a woman that she knew under normal circumstances as a name to a face, was closer and more important to her than Kimimaru.

But guilt ate at her, and no matter what her brain was trying to believe in, deep down in her heart of hearts she knew that she wanted Kimimaru to win.

Damn it! She thought. Her fists were tightened into fists, her knuckles were white. Her lips were dry, and she felt the inside of her mouth like sandpaper.

'Begin.'

Tifa was lightning fast and at the same time as Kimimaru charged at her with a bone blade, she drew out her twin guns and started firing while dodging in the last possible moment. Both moved swiftly, fluidly, never for a moment taking the eyes off of their opponent.

Kimimaru slashed at the woman while she dodged and occasionally parried with her guns. Orochimaru was astounded at the weapons she was using. He had never seen anything like this. After five minutes, however, it became apparent that crowding the training field like this was not the best course of action, as bone bullets and mini rasengans were flying everywhere.

Orochimaru ordered for the ninja to leave, only him, the Kazekage and Sylvia remainin, per his orders. He wanted her to observe. To see where he was superior, where the Cursed Seal was more powerful. He could see her internal turmoil shining through her eyes and riggid posture.

BAM BAM BAM!

Tifa's crazed rapid fire put Kimimaru's skills to the test, as her hand eye coordination was as good as his own, only her skills were range- based. He tried shooting bones at her but she managed to parry them with shots of her own. Where he slashed, she dodged. Not a single mistake, not a single unnecessary move. She was too good, and those movements were not the ones you could find at the standard ninja training. It was as if she moved by instinct, in a way she almost saw his moves before he did them. Her hazel, almost golden eyes were glaring at him, rarely blinking if at all. It was as if she read his moves.

It was his skill versus her experience, his power versus her unnatural agility and prowess. He was starting to tire, but she still had a lot of fuel to keep her running for a long time. She was efficient. He had to end the fight before he ran out of chakra. If this was an endurance test, she would have won ten times or more probably.

He activated the Curse seal.

Sylvia's eyes widened.

Finally, there was a successful strike. Tifa went flying across the field and she crashed, dragging acrosss the ground for a few meters. The soldier woman was sure that the skin on her back was either pealed off or it was now incrusted with small pebbled. She had had worse. Like that time in Iraq when a bomb went off and a shrapnel pierced her leg. Her fibula was actually arteficial , but it was not relevant at this point of time.

She stood up and saw that Kimimaru was already covered in the Cursed Seal Level 1 markings. She tried to roll away but he caught her and slammed his fist in her gut. Despite the horrible pain she felt, the animalistic urge to simply off him was overwhelming. In all her time as a soldier, there had always been that one rule that her father always shouter at her.'Conquer your pain, conquer your enemy.' Through clenched teeth and wide, crazed eyes, she shoved one silvery gun into his face and fired.

The young man landed with a hard thudd on the wall, and then fell on the ground. While he was regaining his posture, she put her guns back into their respective holsters and pulled out a small scroll from a pocket in her pants. After placing a few drops of her blood on it, she summoned her Bazooka.

'Truly amazing isn't it? Both make no unnecessary steps, both masters at their craft.' Orochimaru said, transfixed on the on going battle.'Tifa is older and possesses a lot more endurance than Kimimaru, who, I confess, is not at prime health. It is like watching the immovable object versus the unstoppable force.'

Tifa grunted painfully as she mounted the bazooka on one shoulder, just as a now Cursed Seal Level 2 Kimimaru charged at her, spine whip at the ready.

The Kazekage watched the battle, not saying a word. He should not have agreed to this stupid spar. He was certain that things somehow ran deeper than what was truly at display. It was a bloody deathmatch and if Orochimaru cost him his best Kunoichi, he would be damned if their alliance persisted. Of course, he was also aware that if he called the alliance off, entirely on his own without Tifa and in the heart of Oto, he'll be as good as kidnapped or dead. Either way, his decision was stupid and rash. And why was that girl here? Was that not the girl Tifa trained? Maybe that Kimimaru kid had a thing for her? He didn't really care but the way he was visciously fighting against Tifa was enough to make him think that the silver haired youth was trying to prove his worth.

'Stop!' someone screeched, and startled both the Kazekage and the Snake Sannin. Those few moments passed incredibly slowly.

A powerful blast flew from Tifa's bazooka as she turned slightly to look at the source of the noise. Kimimaru charged at that same moment at Tifa, the a the spine whip in one hand and a bone blade in the other. His eyes widened as the huge glowing ball of chakra just grazed by his ear, causing him incredible pain. In the next moment, his charge faultered and he found himself almost passing away from the horrid pain the chakra ball had caused him. His left ear drum had burst horribly, he was sure of it. There was no time to dwindle upon his realization as wood sprung from all over the place, embracing both him and Tifa tightly, completely constricting any movement. It was a moment too late- his bone blade was running clearly through the soldier woman's chest.

The Chakra Ball connected with the wall behind him, causing a massive explosion. Part of the ceiling collapsed in that area and the only thing keeping their area safe was the mokuton thicket.

It was a day that had gone horribly wrong, something typical when it involved Orochimaru's intrigue weaving instincts.

Sylvia fell on the ground in a dead faint, completely drained from the accidental mokuton stunt she had pulled off.

The wooden roots, holding Kimimaro and Tifa in their positions loosened and Tifa made a quick work of whatever was holding her. She pulled away from Kimimaro's blade, almost as if the mortal wound he had inflicted ( and he was sure the bone blade went straight through her heart) was nothing more but a scratch.

The Kazekage was not a man who gaped stupidly like a fish when something so unexpected happened, but he was glaring pretty intensively at the now blood-pouring wound in the middle of her chest.

'What? It's just a flesh wound.' She glared back and pulled off his trade mark white Sunan Scarf to press the wound to stop it from bleeding. Her now bloodied and naked back was pouring blood pretty intensively as well and he was too damn sure she would not make it to the hospital wing with enough blood to pull through.

He sighed and hurried after her.

Orochimaru just stood there thoughtful. He had found the catalyst. Kimimaro was what made her mokuton tick. It was pretty obvious they cared for each other and while he was a heartless bastard, he knew the value of such bonds. Right now, however, he needed to take the remaining unconscious ninja to the hospital wing. Whatever jutsu Tifa had just performed, he was going to learn it.

**LINELINELINE**

_One week later_

Kimimaru woke up gradually to find himself once again in a hospital room, HIS hospital room. He heard the familiar sounds of the life support machines in the background, but he also heard one sound that for the past week had not been around- Sylvia's calm breathing.

He looked at the source of that sound and saw the black haired girl sitting on a chair next to his bed, one elbow propped on his bed and the hand attached to it was used as a head stand.

He tried to speak but he had a tube in his trachea. He then moved one hand to touch her.

She started at first, and then she looked confusedly at his hand. Realisation hit her,she smiled at Kimimaru and gently took his hand into hers. A tear fell from her face on the back of his hand.

'I'm sorry.'was all she said as she just let the tears pour. It was all she could manage, after she let the hurricane of emotions loose, releaving the tension she felt from within, caused by all the fear, the feeling of uselessness, the guilt and the worry from the entire ordeal.

Finally, Kimimaru brushed away a tear from her wet cheeks with his index finger and she looked at him, seeing his soft gaze. She was forgiven. They were friends again. All was well.

**LINELINELINE**

'You should be dead, you know' The Kazekage stated once again at the now fully healed Tifa, as they were walking across the desert on their way home. Tifa mentally smiled with the irony of calling Suna home.

'So you have said.'

'I am tired of your secrets but I am sure you will tell me on your own soon enough.'

This time Tifa smiled for real, well, more like smirked at him. He cared. She witheld the snort. It was his way of saying 'I am so glad you are alive and well, Tifa.' From the time they had spent together since the begining of this entire ordeal, she was sure she knew his habits and quirks well enough, and vice versa.

'Orochimaru was not pleased, though. I liked the part when the medic said something about possible brain damage and the bastard gaped angrily.' The Kazekage commented.

Tifa gave him a look. Was he trying to actually be funny? It was working, but he was, well, the 'I have a ten foot pole up my ass' Fourth Kazekage.

'I liked the part when he stopped moving.' Tifa smirked and there was silence for a moment. The Kazekage suddenly looked incredibly thoughtful, a vague impression of the same exact expression Orochimaru wore. He was playing along.

'Who? Kimimaru when you blew his ear drum, or the slimy snake when you said 'It's just a flesh wound'?'

'Have a pick.'

The trip back was a lot more pleasant than the one to Oto. It had a different air about it, and the Kazekage seemed more open to Tifa.

**LINELINELINE**

Orochimaru was sitting in his study, furiously correcting his notes on the summoning seal he had used to bring Sylvia to this dimension. Soon, he was going to repeat yet again the process, it hopefully being finally perfected.

The host body was wearing down and he needed a new one. Kimimaru was too ill and still in the intensive care section and Sylvia was way too untrained to be even considered a worthy possible host. He had a fine selection of possible hosts, however, all of which following him blindly in his footsteps. While the Kazekage was visiting, he also had managed to swipe a DNA sample. He was also a suitable host. The snake Sannin smirked. His plans were comming along well, especially when he would take over the man's body and take full control of the Sunan Nina Forces.

_**A/N: Well guys! This very special 33rd chapter marks the end of the Pilot Arc of the Moons of Red series. Next chapter will begin the new arc and with it there will be new characters along with old ones introduced to the Narutoverse. There will be a lot more tension and adventure. There will be humor. **_

_**Romance is simmering in the air for some, and lets not forget that the Chuunin exams are only 2 arcs away! **_

_**Please review and tell me what you think of Kimimaru's and Tifa's battle. Tell me of your ideas of what would come next? Also, Next chapter will be dedicated to Silver Mononoke's 18th birthday. I will try to do it justice and post it tomorrow! **_

_**Yours truly,**_

_**Chaotic**_


	34. Something Wicked this way Cometh

Chapter 34

Something Wicked this way comes

'Goooood Morning, Phoenix, Arizona! Today's a fine sunny lovely morning and the weather report's looking good...'

A groan escaped underneath the covers and a hand poked from one side to silence the radio alarm clock. It was only 6:30 am but she had to be up early that day. Summer Leanne Gordon pulled the covers off of her head, sat up in her bed and yawned, albeit stretching her arms in various directions. Her sky blue eyes were dull and sleepy, her otherwise pale Irish complextion slightly blushed at her cheeks. Her golden brown shoulder-lenght hair was everywhere but that was not important as soon enough she found herself in her bathtub, taking a shower and ready to prepare for the day.

Her parents were probably still asleep and Summer did her best not to cause too much noise. She tip toed back to her room, clad only in a large white fluffly towel, and a smaller one wrapped around her dripping squeaky clean head.

Once she was back in her room, she started drying herself with only the large towel- one did not use hair driers at 7 am in the morning.

Her room was spacial, in light soft colors. A typical room for a typical 19 year old young lady. There were several posters in her room, all left from her high school year. The football team poster, the high school orchestra in which she could be seen on the medium left, holding violin. The last poster was actually an enlarged picture of her with the then set up group of the Akatsuki Fanclub, all autographs included. The bottom sign read 'Anima Con 2009'. One could see a very happy looking Yugito cosplayer in the middle of a group hug with the extravagant group of crazy teens.

Summer finnished rubbing her hair dry and was now combing it. She stopped and looked at the said poster. Her radio was turned on and it was quietly going through the news of the day.

'... so far. The police is baffled at the mysterious disappearences of cosplayers. One of the working theories at the time is that they may have fallen victims to fanatical fans. Tell me, Clara, would you risk cosplaying when such maniacs may be on the loose?...'

Summer was in the middle, being squeezed by a vivid orange clad blonde with then shoulderlenght hair. Right on top of her chest was her autograph. _'Never give up and always believe in your dreams. Your's truly, Fiffie.'_

Right next to her was, of course the infamous 'bane' of all crazy Itachi fangirls, MJ Keats. _'Stay true to your yourself and your friends. Winners never quit. Quitters never win. MJK.'_

Then there was the amazing L-chan, posing for the photo._'Leaders are not born. Leaders are made. But before anything else, follow your '._

_'Aim with both eyes with true not loiter. Tifa M.'_

_'Great Cos, lady! With love, Hatorri.'_

_'The baby is due november. I'll consider the name, yours truly, Malena.'_

_'My quintessense is the Art Eternal. Don't listen to the brat. Your Danna, Akasuna no Sasori aka Sam.'_

_'ART IS A BANG! Kisses, Dave.'_

_'Swim with caution, Benjie.' ( _that was the Kisame Cosplayer, a formidable man with muscles and height, LOTS of height0)

By the time Summer was ready, it was already 8 o'clock and were parents were finally up. While they were preparing to start for the day, she headed for the kitchens and made breakfast, bacon and eggs, with toast and two kinds of jam and butter at the ready next to the tea, coffee and juice. She readied the table and turned on the TV to watch the morning program. The 19 yeal old girl took a casual bite from her first jammed and buttered toast just as her parents entered the kitchen. It had always been like this. Both her parents were busy people but they always found time for each other, be it during the weekend or the weekdays. Summer was the one who usually prepared breakfast, and her mom joked that she had inherited that particular 'motherly'quirk from her grandmother. Summer always smiled at the mention of her grannie. She was a lovely old lady that always found time to come over whenever she was all by herself and they would make cookies and cakes and other delicious things to take to the local orphanage.

Another thing that Summer loved was children. Her grandmother and her visited the orphanage regularly, often once a week, bringing smile upon their chubby faces with huge, brilliant innocent eyes.

Summer also loved music. In fact, she played both the piano and the violin and she always performed whenever she could in the orphanage.

'Sunshine, honey, it's almost 9 am. You should get going if you want to get a good seat on the bus.' her mother took her out of her musings.

'Sure, mom. I'll just finish this toast and I'm going.'

'Your father will take you to the station and, what was that boy's name? Oh yeah, Harvey! Well, he called me and told me to tell you that his sister, Amellia or something, was sick and won't be able to perform for the band, so that other girl Julia will take her place. I think I remember her. Wasn't she the one you competed against last year?'

'Yes mom, it was her...'

'Are you ok with her on the team, sweety? I mean, she won and ...'

Summer smiled at her mother. She was also like her grandmother.

'Don't worry mom, we're friends. It's just a competition, my life doesn't depend on it. And we're going to have tons of fun. It will be our last, you know.'

Her mother looked at her and her expression screwed up slightly.

'Oh, honey, you are all grown up now! It was like yesterday when I was still changing your diapers! You are all out of school and will soon go out into the harsh real world.' she stood up and went over to hug her only child tightly, as if afraid she would never see her again.'Make sure to win the competition sweety! Your father and I would be very proud to have the trophy in our living room, and the reward is nice too, you could use it for your college...'

'I know, mom! I have to go now, mom! I will see you in a week!' Summer smiled at her mother and kissed her cheek. Her father was waving the keys and was standing next to an open front door. The young woman ran up to her room and took her bagpack with her things in one hand and her violin box in her other.

Summer loved music. True, she played the violin. But she played it with style and thanks to a lot of hard work and dedication. Those same qualities got her out of the orchestra and into the rock band. Yep, she was part of a rock band that did classical violin solos. Her CV for the college was filled with awesome things like that.

Her father started the engine of the car and the trip to the bus station was quiet and short.

'I know your mother asked but...'

'I'll be fine, dad, Julia is a nice person and it's all in good fun. Besides, Harvey will be there and not to mention Theo. You know how protective those two are of their 'classical violinist', you needn't worry.'

Her father snorted as she said 'classical violinist' with the same strain that death metal boy, Theodore, had said it.

Once they arrived at the bus station, which was filled with a lot of people, mostly musical young adults and their parents, Summer and her father had a short moment of saying goodbye with a hug, and then she was off to find her two death metal junkies. They were easy to find as, among the entire place, they were the only ones to stand next to a huge bus, practicing , in Harvey's case, their drum stick moves, and in Theodore's case, a livid air guitar, while both were listening to some metal-ish piece from a single I-pod with two jacks for headphones.

Summer smiled when she saw them and jogged to their position. They were too into their performance to see her and she was forced to get the I-pod from its comfortable position on top of one of the drum cases and to turn it off. The two death metal junkies immediately stopped bobbing to the music and looked around, finally spotting the golden brown haired girl with hands on her hips.

'Sunshine! Hail, Priestess of the Moonlight Sonata!' Theodore exclaimed passionately at the sight of the girl, and fell on one knee in front of her, arms wide spread in a 'I am yours to command motion'.

'Theo, get off the ground, its dirty and those pants are new.' she lightly scoulded the young man with spiky black hair with silver tipped spikes. He pouted childishly, his eyes looking up at her, revealing his black rimmed with gold dust Dior decorative lens.

'Up, now.'

'Yes, mother dearest.' He sighed dramatically and stood up, sitting back on his spot. Summer then eyed the dirty knee spot and started dusting it, really reminding a mother. At least Theodore's parents didn't have to worry about him having dirty laundry for a week. Summer was there to remind him. Literaly.

'Did you get clean underwear? I don't want to repeat last year's super amazing mall run for clothes.'She finally asked, looking him up and down, inspecting for any dirty spots. He was not a dirty person but he tended to forget essencial stuff easily, especially when his drums were concerned.

'My mom packed me some fresh laundry and told me to, quote unquote 'marry the girl before some fine businessman sweeps her off her feet with luxury and VIP concert spots'.'

'Dude, your mom is weird.' Harvey commented, while eyeing one of his zipper trinkets on his crazy black pockety pants.

'Well, your mom is weirder.'

'She can't help it dude! She's French!'

'Come on now, boys, no fighting. We're here to have fun, not to discuss our mothers.'

'Yes, mother dearest.' the two chanted in unison and then smiled innocently at Summer. They looked ridiculous and she couldn't help but sigh helplessly. Boys will be boys.

'Where's Julia, anyway? She said she'll be here in...' Theo started.

'Sorry, for almost being late guys and girl! I was finishing the final touches of my make up.' A blonde skinny girl in shiny, new fashion clothes, tapped(read jogged with her ultra high... high heels) over to them.

'I'm happy you made it in time, Julia. I was about to phone you.'

The prep girl smiled at summer and then started rummaging through her purse for lip gloss.

'Uhm, Julia, you do know we will be in a bus for 7 hours straight?'

'That doesn't mean I won't look my best!'

If Summer could, she would have anime sweat dropped. Julia was the most preppy person she was in contact and appart from her naturally whiny, preppy, bitchy attitude, her heart was in the right place, well, most of the time.

And there they were, 4 people having absolutely nothing to do with each other save for their once upon a time membership in their high school orchestra. Death Metal, Old School Rock, Classical and Pop, all in one. They called themselves the Sound Four. Summer had suggested it, and since the rest hadn't really watched Naruto THAT much, (save for the Chuunin exams, but everyone and their mother had watched it at this point), well, they accepted the name. Of course, Amellia, their usual singer, was best friends forever with Julia, who had quit singing for a while in the pursuit of a suitable football star to marry (don't ask). Anyway, Julia had graciously accepted to join their band when Amellia fell ill. It was good to be prepared and have back ups. It was Summer's idea to have Julia prepare with them for the super awesome band competition, just in case.

Preparedness had paid off.

**LINELINELINE**

The luxurious bus, provided by the company doing the competition, was big and luxurious. But it was only one, and the competitors were in for a tight fit. Only the air of excitement and the occasional choir of a very famous song, was what kept the aspiring musical virtuosos from killing...er...eliminating...ahem...well, from beating each other into a pulp, like a literally bloody preliminary.

The air conditioning was working full throttle, and Theo was using Summer happily as a pillow for his beauty sleep. Harvey was playing on his Nintendo, and Julia was typing short messages on her Black Berry with equal speeds.

Summer smiled as she looked at her band. So different and yet united under the same banner of music. She felt herself doze off as well, the repetetive scenery they passed by getting her as well. She dully wondered for a moment what had happened to the missing cosplayers. And the next thing she knew was the blissfull darkness of sleep.

**LINELINELINE**

The sudden crash awoke all of the inhabitants in the otherwise spacious appartment where Sam lived. It was too late however and every single one of them was surrounded by what seemed to be masked men in black, guns pointed at them. Sam thought she was dreaming at first, until she was brought by the two people around her bed to the living room, where all of her guests were gathered in the same manner. Marco, Peter and Leo were restrained with handcuffs, while Kate and Malena were trying to calm two very distressed toddlers.

'What the hell is going on?' Sam finally spoke after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. PEOPLE HAD BROKEN INTO HER HOUSE! Were those the kidnappers?

'Don't we all want to know, Miss Taylor?'

The young woman swiftly turned around to face a tall man past his prime. Leopold's eyes widened when he recognized those brilliant azure eyes.

'W-who are you?' Samantha dared to ask.

The man whoever did not answer and instead looked about the room.

'Release the men, I'm sure they would not cause trouble.'he said and then turned back to Samantha.'No need to worry, Miss Taylor. We are not the kidnappers but it took me quite the resources and contacts to get a grasp of these fine people's location. No, We're not CIA or FBI or KGB or whatever. In fact, we don't even exist officially. We haven't existed since the end of WWII.'

'You're Fiona's grandfather, aren't you?' Leo spoke, his voice ice cold, devoid of all emotion.

'Jonathan Johnson Sr at your service' the man smiled and mock bowed.'Why haven't you released them yet? Chop chop!'

Soon enough, the only people in the room was Fiona's Grandfather and the cosplayers,including two very asleep toddlers and one very bemused Sam Taylor- Narsilion.

'I always thought that Fia had some super spy or evil genius ancestors but this is ridiculous.' Light stated sarcastically, while Lilly-Anne Philips nodded in agreement, while fixing her hair.

'So, tell me what you know. I am sure we all want to find our sweet darlings as soon as possible and before your dear sweet Cosplay associations are ruined thanks to **slightly** abusing the Internet.' J.J. Sr's voice went from cheerful to freezing cold serious in the same manner Fia would occasionally speak when very annoyed or angry. Light mentally shivvered as the thought occured to him.

'We're not telling you anything.' Lilly Anne spoke with a superiority note in her voice. 'For all I know you could be a bloody impersonator of Fiona's grandfather, or,which would be even worse- Fiona's actual grandfather, who is trying to gain something from this entire ordeal, with us being used as scape goats.'

The cold, viscious smile on his face made them all tense and deathly silent.

'This would be the only time I would let such a horrible comment slip by. The next time anyone of you says anything so derogatory, while addressing my loyalty to my family, I will personally kill you all without even blinking. Is that clear? Good.'

'Don't worry, Lilly, he is Fia's grandfather. No one can pull off a Johnson Threat like a real Johnson.'

'Gee, Raito, and how would you know, hmm?' Peter asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

'I've had a talk with Fia's father some time ago. He had said something of the same calliber.' the red head answered lightly, earning both himself, and Grandpa JJ weird stares.

'I heard you had a nice brain packed on top of your shoulders, boy. Want to earn some Johnson credits? Help me find my baby. Can't have my only precious princess of a granddaughter go missing without a trace, now can we?'

'No sir.'

'So, did you pick this team or you picked yourselves?' The old man asked, while looking around. He gradually raised one eyebrow, while bearing the Johnson trademark dull expression that screamed 'FAIL'. Leo had seen it numerous times when Fia commented the cheerleading team.'Two young married couples, going on missions PREGNANT and with their TODDLERS, a high school soon to be graduating future Grandson-in-Law, a booby chicka with an attitude...I don't know what you two are supposed to be (he addressed the Amedara and the Hakushi cosplayers, who, by the way, had been planning to leave the previous afternoon but had unfortunately decided to stay a bit more). Seriously, boy, If you want to join the Johnson crew, you need to learn how to pick a team.'

'I suggest never to underestimate one's carefully chosen crew.'Benjamin spoke for the first time. For being a whole head taller than the man mountain JJ Sr, Bennie sure knew how to become invisible in plain sight.

'Speaking like a true Legionnaire.' JJ Sr smiled at the man, not at all intimidated by him.'But you are right. Go back to sleep. I will send cars tomorrow to get you. We are going to go to the official HQ of this operation, Codename:'Princess Bride' and we will discuss further actions there. Go to bed and try to sleep. Miss Taylor, you will be conpensated for any trouble we or they have caused you. Good morning.'

And with that the man turned to leave, with a room full of shocked into silence young adults.

'I think it is a good idea to pack.' Lilly deadpanned.

Edward and Karl looked at each other...err, the Amedara and Hakushi cosplayers... and then the doctor, Karl, stated clearly.

'We only agreed to help you get to Narsilion. We're outta here.' With that the two turned to leave.

'Just so you know, forget this ever happened. We're probably being watched from every angle as we speak, so pack up and go. Take the Battle Cruiser ( he meant the Nissan they came with). We'll get personal rides tomorrow.' Leo then stood up and stretched and headed back to the room he shared with Peter and Marco to sleep. There were too few rooms to have the couples sleep in one room so they agreed to split by genders. The kids were with the women.

As the entire thing went over yet again in Lilly's mind, she could not help but think about how one's true qualities showed up in situations like this one. She didn't blame Eddie and Karl, they did not know the missing people that well. Hell, even she didn't, but she was a leader of one of the Fanclubs and it was her duty. And her head would fall anyways if she did not do anything.

'Alright. I suggest we pack up now and then get sleep. It'll be a busy few days. Taylor, sorry for the trouble, but this is life. Thank you for your hospitality.' Sam nodded at Lilly.

With that, they all went to pack. Peter smacked Light awake, but that was a slightly irrelevant bit of information.

**LINELINELINE**

True to JJ Sr's word, three spacious black cars that screamed 'goverment' were parked outside, waiting for the group to leave. Everything was wrapped up quickly and soon enough all three cars were driving their way to an unknown for the group location. The men in black did not speak. There were three of them, the driver and a body guard at the front, and one body guard at the back in each car. The body guards were armed with automatic arms that made weapon specialist like Benjie, bless his kind, paladinish heart, green with envy.

Marco, Malena and their kids were in one car, Benjamin,Light and Lilly were in the next, and Peter and Kate were in the last vehicle.

There was nothing to talk about during the trip.

But it was to be short lived.

The first car in the row of three suddenly screeched to an uneasy stop, while the two behind her tried to avoid crashing into it. When everything calmed down, the body guards exited the vehicles, their wards were gone. All they remembered being unusual was the sudden flash of light, the sudden lack of weight in the cars that nearly rolled them over at their speeds.

'Sir!' one of the men called HQ.'They...they just disappeared...'

'What? Hodgekins, are you sure?'

'Positive. There was a bright flash of light and that's it...'

'Where did we go wrong? God have mercy on our souls...' JJ Sr mumbled.

'What was that sir?'

'We failed them, and we failed ourselves. Search the area for anything suspicious and then come to HQ as fast as possible' stated an eerily grave sounding Jonathan Johnson Senior.'We've failed...'

_**A/N: and here is the long awaited chapter for the new arc! Every beginning is hard and I want to thank all my reviewers and fans and readers for their support. Without you, I doubt I would have had the strenght to write this all the way through the Pilot Arc. It was a long and tedious journey through the years, especially with all the plotting and research I had to do and I believe I finally managed to find the successful formula for this project.**_

_**Also, I want to say Happy Birthday! To SilverMononoke, who was one of the people whose support I appreciated the most. This chapter is specifically dedicated to her as this day, Friday, August 13th is her 18th birthday. Its a milestone in life even though you wont feel the difference at first! I wish you all the happiness and love in the world and I'm crossing my fingers for you to do well in whatever exams you have in front of you and I hope you've set sights on a path for your life. It is in these years of your life that you will shape it and it is exceptionally important for you to understand this fact.**_

_**I hope you all enjoy this chapter as it sets the beginning of a very interesting Arc. Something Wicked this way comes, even if you may not see it yet. Mysteries will unravel soon enouh, so don't keep your knickers in a twist or whatever!**_


	35. Give a man a fish

Chapter 35

Teach a man to fish...

'Don't let them escape!'

Peter swung Masamune with deadly precision in front of him, Marco not far behind and Bennie bringing justice in his own little area with his fists.

Lilly-Anne was holding a screaming Vincent, while Malena was cuddling a crying Tifa. Kate was standing behind them, trying to calm herself for her unborn baby's sake. Leo, who was obviously unarmed and no where near the battle expertise of the men before him.

It all had happened so fast. The light, the pressure, the squeezing feeling and the blackness. The next moment they were standing in the middle of a large dark room, with ninja in front of them. There was no time to think. Only time to escape. And even it was scarse.

One of the ninja threw some sort of pebbles to the ground infront of them and smoke erupted from them. After the smoke cleared, the ninja went to pick up the now sleeping cosplayers.

'Feisty and quick to act. Strong sense of team work as well. They were already from the same group...Hmm...I wonder...' Orochimaru went over to the ninja holding the pregnant woman.'So pretty and young. And obviously full of life...Take them to the holding cells. Strip them of their weapons and take their luggage for inspection.'

With that done, the room was emptied. Orochimaru was more than happy- he was extatic. So many people summoned from another dimension, and all of them obviously powerful enough to be his hosts... Especially the silverhaired man with the excessivelly long sword. Making them serve him would be easy- the children and the pregnant woman were leverage enough.

Speaking of the children, Orochimaru could not help but notice the uncanny resemblance the blue-haired woman had with Konnan from Akatsuki. On the same note, the blonde man reminded him of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Was it possible that these people were actually said ninja but from another dimension? He needed further tests to see if his idea was an actual fact. He would examine them while they were asleep.

**LINELINELINE**

*hiccup !*

'Maaaan! Not another one!'

'Whaddaya mean another one? IT'S A WHOLE BLOODY ORCHESTRA OUT THERE! WITH LITTLE KIDS!*burp* Oh, pardon me! Too much beer does that.'

'Well, if you *hiccup! * cut down on the bloody booze, you'd be * hiccup!* cutting down on burping as well!'

'So, whadda we do with this bunch? They ain't anything local, 'cept maybe that really tall dude...'

'With the silverhair?'

'No, the other tall dude.'

'With the spiky blonde hair and blue eyes?'

'Are you playing *burp ! * , 'scuse me, dumb, Kami?'

'Ooh! The really tall dude!'

'I hate you.'

'I love you,too, Tsuki.'

Tsukiyomi glared at Kami.

'So, what are we doing with this bunch?'

'Well, besides tall dude and blue paper flower girl Immita...uh...Immitatrix! Yeah! Ahem. Well, beside them, the rest don't even come close to Chakra.'

'Can we even give them the powers they try to represent?'

'Of course we can! * hiccup! * I mean, I ain't Kami for nothing.'Suddenly, Kami went silent, deep in thought.

'What?'

'Shinigami will be really happy! He's getting not one, but TWO assistants!'Kami clapped his hands together.

'Seriously, they're mortals.'

'Exactly, what is a human lifetime to a god, anyways? He won't mind...much.'

'* Burp! *'

'* hiccup! *'

**LINELINELINE**

Leo woke up gradually, blacking out a few times before consciousness completely claimed him. He felt as if someone had slammed a train onto him and he took his sweet time before he tried to sit up. His back was killing him and it was so bloody cold and damp here...wait. Where was here, anyways? The red head looked around and found himself in a cell, in some sort of underground dungeon ( he could see no windows), with Marco, Ben and Peter. In the cell across from him he could see the girls and the kids. They seemed fine.

Leo sighed. What the hell happened? Was Lilly- Anne right about JJ Sr being a double crosser? He seriously doubted... THE LIGHT! His eyes widened as he remembered what happened. The pressure, the black out... the large chamber... the pale man with black hair and yellow eyes...OROCHIMARU! It was him who did this? Did that mean Fia and the rest were here? Were they alright? If Fia had somehow ended as a breeding subject (which was an irrational thought since she was too smart to even let her be anything less than a bloody inventor for the slimy snake.) he was going to slaughter the bastard into oblivion, back, into oblivion again and then beyond. He could feel the rage bubbling within him. Something stung on his neck, which surprised him. He felt some sort of powersurge course through him, it was dark and... then it was gone. Light felt some sort of bracelet on his wrist. It had stopped the...whatever it was. It was a simple red band with a small ampule-like thing hanging from it. And from the ampule was barely hanging on a small THIN string a note.

'_Heya, Outlander! I hope you like the presents! No reaper assistant goes around one of these! Awesome, huh?_

_Signed: Kami'n'crew._

_**PS: Do not tell the others anything. I will contact you and the woman soon. She knows nothing yet. Use your powers wisely,as they are not to be triffled with. Kami lacks any sort of wisdom, I am afraid, and you and your friends need to find your own way back home.**_

_**Signed: Your Boss, Shinigami '**_

Leo read the note twice and then stared dully at nothing.

'Riiiight.'

He felt something literaly drop into the pocket of his jacket. A confused Leo took out the item, only to gape at it. The Death Note. Leo was a calm and collected person. Leo, was not illogical or irrational in any way, save when Fiona was involved. The red head looked at the book for a few more minutes and then cracked it open. There it was, the list of rules on the first page. There was also an additional note, snuck in with the same writing that that Shinigami person had.

'_**Kami gave you the means to become an omnipotent force of earth. I will give you the means to use this power. There are no it wisely, for I have only so much compassion.'**_

Light looked at the ampule and saw the very delicate etching of the Kanji for 'Death Scythe'. A remote idea was forming in his head about what was going on. One thing was certain. They were royally screwed.

He looked at one of the guards, who was standing at the side of the opposite cell. He was some guys Mujiro Katsutchi or something like that, 29 years of age...3 more years to...

Light's eyes widened. Of course. The Shinigami sight. With no drawbacks. He was many things. But he was not such a dirty murdered. All those ninja. So defenceless against his powers as an Assistant Death God, if what that Shinigami person had implied was true. He would not say anything about this. Not now anyways. He needed time, and he needed to think.

His companions slowly woke up one by one.

Peter groaned as he rubbed his neck. He seemed to have some sort of black symbol...the Cursed Seal! Leo touched his neck as well and felt the distinct prickle he had felt when he became enraged. Were they all marked and alive? That seemed logical. Perhaps Orochimaru summoned them or something like that with a custom jutsu for hosts? After all, only those who were worthy as hosts could survive the marking anyways. From the way things were, with them being locked in cells like that, he could only guess Orochimaru was planning to negotiate.

As far as he knew, they could've been on dissection tables. He wasn't a genius for nothing.

One of the ninja left when all of them were awake. He was going to inform Orochimaru, Leo was sure of it. He took the moment. He may not have another.

'Listen up, people. There are going to be negotiations. Snake Bastard would want us willingly to work for him and I doubt his plans would not involve the children and Kate. I suggest to cooperate only under the condition nothing happens to them. We dont have any other options at this point.'

'Do you think the others are here?'

'I have no idea, Peter.'

_**A/N: Short but meaningful! Might update more soon. I wanted to upload at least this.**_


	36. A B C D Eerr KUMO!

**Chapter 36**

Because it was long overdue for something like this to happen

Samui sipped her tea while professionally ignoring the quarrel between Omoi and Karui. It was always like this right before practice. At least their contradicting personalities did not clash as often during missions...well, most of the time.

Her straight blond hair slightly moved by the force of what seemed to be the impact of Karui's fist upon Omoi's head. He really should stop comparing their chests, it was absolutely childish, not to mention trying, even for her. He was a lot more intelligent for these foolish fights. His choice, though.

'Omoi, Karui, break is over.' Samui stated as she finished the last sip of her tea.'Back to practice.'

Karui and Omoi glared at each other, black and gold exchanging charged spikes. They glared for another moment or so until they broke it off and headed after Samui.

Practice was going better than usual, for Samui that is, until...

'Hidden Cloud Technique: Lightning Strike!'

Samui was an excellent Kunoichi. She specialized in resisting the urge to face palm.

'Karui! Don't you know that that kind of attack can rip a person to shreds! This is training! Forget ripping a person to shreds! What if you ripped the reality open and then that rip went into another reality? What if a PERSON gets sucked in? Have you ever though about that? You never think things through Karui...'

'And you think too much, you ...you...pessimist!'

'Ninja should and must be cool. What if Killer Bee-Sen...'

Suddenly Samui moved just in the nick of time to avoid cushioning something's fall... or rather someone's...

'SEE? Now look what you did!' Omoi exploded with worry and his over-thinking...err..yeah.

'Shut up, Omoi, it's probably not what you think it is.' Karui frowned while Samui knelt next to the body of a young girl and her luggage.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Summer groaned. Her back hurt. Her head hurt. Hell, everything hurt. Almost as if she fell from a 2 story building with mostly bruises to prove the tale. She wasn't very coherent. For all she could register in her highly dazed state ( concussion anyone?) there were people around her. It was dark but she knew it was warm and sunny outside and the dry ground smelled of … sea? The air was different.

'She's awake.' someone said and Summer immediately regretted opening her eyes. It was so bloody bright it hurt! She squeezed her eyes shut again and felt someone's shadow looming over her. Slowly, oh so slowly she opened her eyes again. She squinted at first. Then she opened them fully. Then she blinked slowly. THEN she closed her eyes again. And then she opened them and stared. That was the best Killer Bee Cosplayer she had ever seen and the AFC didn't even have one for God's sake! She was soooo going to convert him to the AFC.

'Wow! You're amazing.'she blurted out and tried to poke his incredibly shiny and realistic Hitai-Ate that only the incredibly fanatic devotees like those in AFC would have.'Nice! It's real metal! Where did you get it? Can I buy one from the same place?Wow!'

And then she lost consciousness again. A quick chop to the back of the neck. And that was it.

**LINELINELINELINE**

'She's a civilian but...there is something...' Killer Bee murmured and he was thoughtfully looking at her. Team Samui was in the hospital room as well, not to mention A, the Raikage and a mednin.'The examination gave us nothing wrong except recently being exposed to high amounts of excess chakra. As if she was hit by a powerful jutsu...'

'See what you did Karui? What if she had died! Huh? A poor helpless civilian girl!'

'HOWEVER, she does not show evidence of any other damage, save from the fall she took to the ground. The bruises have been taken care of and the concussion is the only thing we need to worry about for the next few days.'

The Raikage nodded and the Mednin left.

'Bee, what is it?'

'Call over Yugito-san. I need to check something...' Killer Bee seemed unusually transfixed in the unconscious girl.

'Bee...'

'It can't be...'

'Samui, go get Yugito Nii right now.'

'Hai, Raikage-sama.'

Samui disappeared in pursuit of the Nibi Jinchuuriki.

'Ne, Sensei...?'

'It's her chakra, Omoi. How can you not feel it? It's the same as Yugito-san's.'

**LINELINELINELINE**

Yugito Nii was a young woman of 29 years of age and ash blonde straight long hair which she always braided when she had work to do. Right now however was her second day of her week long vacation and she was enjoying it by playing her favourite shamisen. It was very relaxing, the view of Kumogakure adding to her sense of tranquility and peace. She wasn't playing any particular tune or anything on her shamisen, but rather merely reflecting her own sense of relaxation via the instrument. The glass door to her balcony was slid open and the warm sea breeze of the outside was gently caressing her sitting form. Suddenly she stopped playing. She had felt a presence approaching.

'Samui-san. What can I do for you?'

'Konnichiwa, Nii-san. Raikage-sama has requested your presence immediately. Follow me, he is in the hospital.'

'Hai.' Yugito left her shamisen to the side and followed Samui through her balcony, her long ash blonde hair waving behind her.

Soon enough, the two kunoichi stepped through the window of the hospital room where the Raikage, and everyone else, were. Immediately, Yugito felt it. The pull was so strong that she even bypassed the Raikage as if he was not there at all.

'You felt it as well, didn't you, Yugito-san?'

'Hai, Killer Bee-sama. She is...me...like me. Not me...but...that's impossible...two Nibis...'

'Bee, what is going on?' A almost shouted in irritation.

'This girl... she is no ordinary girl, brother. She is also a Jinchuuriki. Another Nibi Jinchuuriki.'

The room was shocked into utter silence, save for the transfixed wake Jinchuuriki. Yugito sat on the bed and took the girl's hand into hers. There was something there, a connection. A presence like no other, one closer than even her bond with Nibi. It was a divine form of kinship. It was the only way she could describe it. And it was as if she had always known this girl. She was a nice, down to earth girl who liked to play on stringed instruments as well, she was motherly and wiser beyond her age, she was kind, loving, respectful. She was a lawful good if one could say so. She was not like Yugito, but her essence was practically the same. As if their very souls were in this moment connected by a divine force through the contact.

'Her name is Natsuko.' Yugito all so suddenly spoke, breaking the thick silence. Summer. That was what that girl was. It was her essence. And there there was the presence of her Nibi. It was a separate essence, different from her Nekomata, more similar to something far less malignant, despite the identical chakra. It was then that she finally understood what was going on. It was a psychic bond of sorts between them, caused by the chakras of their Bijuu. It was an overwhelming sensation to feel and to utterly understand another being. Such sense of closeness...

'What are you waiting for? Wake her up so we can question her!'

'Yes Raikage-sama!' they all answered. Yugito and Killer Bee were still staring at the girl.

**_A/N: edited: removed last paragraph for consistency's sake. Moved it to chapter 37_**


	37. Summer didn't get AFC boot camp training

_**A/N : Sorry for the incomplete chapter! I told my sis to send it but she did not check if it was complete or not and a part of it was totally cut off. I'm too lazy to repair the chapter atm so I will just put this one on and then edit the previous chapter. I really enjoy Kumo too much :D**_

_**Oh, and about the intro thingie...I was in the mood for a few epic sentences :D**_

Chapter 37

And so it begins...again

_Sometimes, you may think your journey just begins... but now is not the case. Your journey hasn't even started yet. Then why are you here? You are here, because you were destined to be here. Because the begining of your journey will continue my own. The future lies in your hands as much as it lies in mine, and in everyone else's. In unity we find salvation. Bring us unity, Sunshine..._

**888**

Summer found herself in a room which looked nothing like a hotel room. It had a distinct Japanese feel to it and she also had the nagging feeling the strange dream she had of Killer Bee was no dream at all. The setting was simple, with only the most important things in it. Whoever lived here rarely stayed long enough to decorate this place. It felt...empty.

She got off the bed and reluctantly looked around the room once more. Her bags and stuff were placed next to the wardrobe. It seemed as if the room was prepared for her to stay in. There was a drawer with a mirror above it and finally, Summer looked at the windows. Or more like the view beyond them.

She furrowed her brows and made a few steps closer to the window. Something was definately not right. In fact, she had never seen such buildings before in her life. She tried to open the window but it was as if it was sealed shut. Summer gave up with a sigh and then headed towards the door that hopefully led somewhere where she would find out where she was and more importantly- why she was here and not at the competition.

But as soon as she even tried to touch the door handle, the door was opened swiftly, startling her and making her gasp in surprise. As soon as the start came, it went, and now she saw two curous stern dark eyes staring at her with something akin to badly concealed wonder and awe. The pair of eyes belonged to a very familiar looking blonde woman.

_'Um...hi.' _Summer started in English.

'Konnichiwa' answered the woman in Japanese.

_'Um... excuse me, but could you please tell me where I am...and ...err... why am I here? I was supposed to be at this hotel... have you seen my friends? They're part of my group and they are usually too overprotective to leave me alone...or too childish for me to leave them alone...'_Summer laughed weakly and nervously under the woman's unblinking cat-like gaze. The woman was giving her the creeps. Was she kidnapped? Were her friends ok? What was going to happen next? And where was she?

After a very uncomfortable silent moment, the woman finally spoke again. In Japanese.

'Do you understand me? I requested to take care of you while you wake up and to take you the the Raikage as soon as you did. We have a lot of questions for you.' her voice was stern, professional but a hint of something, of an emotion, was there.

Summer blinked. While an avid fan of Naruto, she was not a complete fanatic like the AFC for example. So, like any casual anime fan, she knew some 1 or 2 hundred words in Japanese. In short. She had no idea how she understood what ever this woman had just said. In the span of several moments, Summer's brain rebooted a dozen times and did a couple of reality checks.

First, she understoon what this woman said but not the gibberish she spoke.

Second, did she just say Raikage?

And, finally, third, this woman looked like Yugito Nii.

If she didn't know better, she would've thought she was in the Naruto world. Then again, she reminded herself, the view outside was real. Despite everything her brain tried to assimilate, she ended up just accepting whatever was happening, to assimilate it slowly, later on, because all of this was too surreal and the hell with her if this was not some kind of really sick joke, which she highly doubted.

So, having all of this on her mind, Summer did what anyone else in her situation would do.

_'Are you Yugito Nii of Kumo?'_

_'_Yes I am, how did you know?' the woman, now recognised as Yugito Nii, was now alarmed.

'_This is too surreal...'_ Summer mumbled.'_Um, well, you looked remarcably like, well, you, so it was easy to guess... Am I in Kumo by any chance?'_

_'_Yes, you are. You appeared in a flash of light. And fell straight to the ground. You had a serious concussion. You've been out since yesterday.'

_'A flash of light? Was it yellowish?'_

'Yes...'

_'Are there others here? Are the AFC here? They disappeared in a flash of light as well! Now I know what happened with them...'_

'You are the only one to have come in such a way to our knowledge. From what you are telling me...how many more are there?'

_'Let me see...around 10 or so?' _to her knowledge that is.

'I see. Well, we better go to the Raikage.'

'_Ok.'_

**LINELINELINELINE**

'Raikage-sama, Nii Yugito and her charge are here.'

'Let them in.'

The door opened and A saw Yugito come in with a very wide eyed girl. The same girl that team Samui claimed to have appeared from thin air. Despite how awe-struck she seemed by the entire village, she did bow when Yugito did and also did say Raikage-sama when Yugito did.

'Yugito, report.' A commanded while he looked at the mysterious girl who he caught curiously staring. She blushed embarassedly at being so impolite as to stare unceremoniously and immediately lowered her gaze to the ground.

'Raikage-sama, the girl is communicative and over all social. She claims there are other people to have come to the Elemental countries the same way. From what I gathered she has an idea who they are but doesn't know how she or they came here. Sadly, we know even less than her about this topic.'

'Continue.' A said, while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

'The girl speaks some unknown language but understands me perfectly for some reason. I understand her as well.'

'Really now? Girl, come closer.'

For a moment, Summer did not react, but just stood there. Then she noticed the Raikage and Yugito staring expecantly at her and she got confused.

'_Yugito, what's going on?' _She asked worriedly.

'Didn't you understand what we just said?'

'_No, sorry. I seem to only understand you when you directly speak to me. The rest is pure gibberish witht the occasional word that sounds remotely familiar.' _The girl seemed apologetic.

'This is quite interesting. Maybe it's a side effect from the bond?' Yugito mused.

'_What bond?'_

A watched curiously as the two women talked with each other in two different languages.

'You are a Nibi Jinchuuriki, just like me. Didn't you know?'

Summer promptly fainted. For some reason A was not surprised. He had the strange feeling the girl had no idea at all what was going on. Then again, he just remembered one thing.

'Yugito.'

'Hai, Raikage-sama?'

'What's the girl's name?'

'I'll ask her when she wakes up, Raikage-sama.'

'Good. Also tell her that she will start Jinchuuriki training. You said that she was trustworthy. Let's see how trustworthy she is.'

'Hai, Raikage-sama.'

**LINELINELINELINE**

'Ah, you''re awake again!'

Summer opened her eyes to see Yugito and herself back in Yugito's appartment. She remembered what happened at the Raikage's office and blushed embarassedly.

_'Where are my manners! I shouldn't faint infront of people like that!'_

_'_It's nothing to worry about, err...'

_'I forgot to introduce myself. I'm so sorry about that, Yugito-san.'_She seemed extremely apologetic, similar to a lost puppy.'_My name is Summer Leanne Gordon. Gordon is my family name. You can call me Summer- everybody home does.'_

_'_Summah...like the season?Like Natsuko?'

'_Yes.'_

_'_Well then, Summah-san, Raikage-sama said you will be starting your Jinchuuriki training. I do not know how you have another Nibi in you, but Killer Bee and I were extremely surprised. In fact, he requested me to come so that I could confirm his theory. It is all very mysterious. It might help if we knew where you come from. Your name sounds very foreign.'

'_I think I come from another universe.'_

'...'

_'...'_

'You aren't joking.'

'_I'm not. Where I come, this entire place is a very popular story. The other people who disappeared were part of the best Fanclub of this place. I wonder why I'm here though. I mean, I'm not a fanatic like them.'_

_'_Did these...fanatics... devise the way to this...universe?'

'_No, they were practically whisked away... just like that.'_ Summer snapped her fingers.

'This means you have no idea who might be playing with the fabric of realities...asuming that what you are saying is true!'

_'It is true! I saw several ninja's passing by on the roofs and some training and such on the way to the Raikage's office! There's no such thing as chakra where I come from! We have superior technology and more advanced science than you. I think we had some real ninja (no chakra though) at some point in time, but nothing even as remotely as close as this.'_

_'_Then...do you know what will happen... if all of this is a story in your world?'

'_Yes...I know what will happen...'_ Summer went silent for a moment and then her eyes widened. Was it possible that she was here in order to help the good guys? She did have a Bijuu within her, if Yugito was to be believed.'_Yugito, I have to speak with the Raikage! He has to know!'_

Soon enough, they were back in the Raikage office, and A was doing paperwork. Watching a huge man like him do paperwork was the most unreal thing Summer had seen so far, and she was in another Universe! Yugito quickly explained what was going on to the Raikage, making his eyebrows skyrocket.

'Summah-san, the Raikage wants you to tell him about this story. I will translate, so don't worry.'

Summer nodded and then she started talking.

'_The story is called Naruto. It's main protagonist is the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Naruto. He wants to be the greatest Hokage there ever was and he wants to protect everybody. As you would guess, the story's plot mostly evolves in Konoha. But Kumo is important as well. Some three years after a Chuunin exam gone horribly wrong, the Akatsuki start gathering the Bijuu from the Jinchuuriki. The Akatsuki are the main Antagonists. They are lead by a very evil man. Uchiha Madara. He is very powerful. In order to stop him the Elemental Nations have to unite themselves. I don't know when exactly am I in the story plot, but maybe you could help me out. The Fabled Chuunin exam in Konoha is intercepted by Orochimaru. He attacks Konoha and has killed the Kazekage a little before that.'_

_'_The Chuunin Exam in Konoha will be in about 6 months. Which Kazekage are you talking about?' A spoke.

'_The Fourth. Yondaime Kazekage.'_

_'_He is still alive. Rumors have it that he made his own son the Ichibi Jinchuuriki. They say he is a very unstable boy.'

_'Sabaku no Gaara. He will be the next Kazekage. It's imperative you start working on your relationship with the other Elemental Countries.I'm not advising you to do so. I'm telling you. Madara is extremely powerful and it will take all you have to stop him. By the time you realised you have to unite only Killer Bee and Naruto were the last living Jinchuurikis!'_

_'_If what you are saying is true, then how do you suggest we go on about this?' there was a hint of danger in his voice which made Summer gulp. But she didn't back down. There was a reason she was here. She had to do something!

'_Raikage-sama, with all my respect, I know that you and Konoha have great differences. You really have to go to the Chuunin exams yourself. Take Killer Bee and Yugito here with you. Take Team Samui as well! They should meet Naruto. He's a ball of energy and might annoy you a bit but his heart is in the right place. And the Sandaime Hokage has a soft spot for him. Your Jinchuuriki training program is the best in the entire world, hands down. Sandaime will benefit from it. Its a great idea to build an alliance around this kind of proposal!'_

_'_Raikage-sama, if what she is saying is true, then that means that we should follow her advice.'

'Tell her that I will think about it, Yugito. In the mean while call my brother. I wish the two of you to train her.'

'Won't Killer Bee be enough, Raikage-sama?'

'You know your Bijuu the best and the two of you working together will speed up the process. And you are also the only one to understand her at this point.'

'Hai, Raikage-sama.'

'Now go.'

The two women left, while Yugito was telling Summer what had transpired.

'I!'

A dark skinned woman with green eyes and silvery hair pulled in a bun entered the Raikage's office. She was his assistant.

'Call for Team Samui.'

'Right away, Raikage-sama.'

Some minutes later the three members of Team Samui were standing in front of their Kage, waiting for orders.

'I have spoken with the strange girl. She told me very disturbing, but interesting, things. What you need to know is that you are going on a mission to Konoha. Your job is to send a letter to the Hokage and wait for his reply. In the mean time, you will look for a boy named Naruto. He is the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and I want you to assess him. You will go in a week. I will give you more details before you leave. Go back to your training. You are still a very young Jounin squad and I don't want to see my brother's hard work go to waste.'

'Hai, Raikage-sama!' the three nin bowed and then left the Raikage's office.

'Ne, Samui? Why do you think the Raikage would want us to go to Konoha after the Hyuuga incident?'

'Karui, the Raikage told us he'll give us details before we leave. Let's get back to training. The two of you should start acting like proper Jounin, not like rookie Chuunin!'

'Yes, Samui.'Karui and Omoi answered simultaniously and followed their busty team leader.


	38. The Yotsuki compound

Chapter 38

Jinchuuriki training

'_Yugito, what kind of person is Killer Bee?' _Summer asked the woman next to her as they made their way to the Yotsuki compound.

'He is...a formidable and loyal ninja. Because of him I can have an almost normal life, even if I am a Jinchuuriki. Refer to him as...'

'_Lord Jinchuuriki, I know. And the Eight Tails- Lord Eight Tails.'_

'Are you sure you're not a fanatic?'

'_Don't worry, I'm not. It was made clear that he wants to be refered so in the...story.'_

Yugito gave her a small smile. They had really hit it off and understood each other really well. They had this good vibe about each other and made them relax more than usual, even Yugito.

'We're here.'

The two were standing before a large gate. The Yotsuki compound was protected by tall walls and Summer had the strange feeling of being watched. It wasn't a feeling, she realized. She was really being watched by hidden ninja, not just the two gate guards.

'Nii-sama, what brings you here?' One of the two guards asked.

'Raikage-sama sent me to get Killer Bee-sama.'

'Very well.'

The two guards moved aside and they were let into the compound. Summer gasped at the splendidly aranged vegetation of the garden she was in. She sure found Kumo a lot more pretty than Konoha, even though she had never seen the real Konoha. She could even go as far as compare it to a resort which had everything. Apparently, the Sandaime Raikage was an avid gardener in his free time, as Yugito informed her.

'Sandaime used to ask me to fetch him this plant or that. He was a very strict and stuborn man, but it was his training that allowed me to take full control of the Nibi.'

'_Yugito? I know this may be a bit personal, but are you a part of the Yotsuki clan? Since its usually a member of the kage's family that becomes a Jinchuuriki in order to prevent turning traitor.'_

_'_You have some very weird bits of information. Well, you are somewhat correct. My grandmother was part of the Yotsuki clan. The Sandaime is my great Uncle. You could say A-sama and Killer Bee-sama are my distant cousins.'

Summer nodded and smiled. They continued through the wondrous garden with artificial brooks, and ponds, and small waterfalls, and finally they heard the feint sound of...rap? As they got closer the rapping got louder and finally they saw a happily rapping away Killer Bee. Now, to Summer, whatever he was saying was utter Japanese Gibberish, but she liked the rythm and it seemed to rhyme. Yugito was glad that she could not understand what he was saying, because it really was utter gibberish, quality wise. When Killer Bee finished, he turned to them expectantly and Yugito politely clapped. Summer cheered enthusiastically. It was just too awesome to see one of your favourite characters perform in front of you. Yugito rolled her eyes, following her emotional trail. At least ONE person found his rapping good... for real.

'Ah! The mysterious girl is here and at first she had been acting weird , but now all is fine because she find my rapping prime!' He even did a little rapping jig which made Summer giggle happily and she clapped once more.

'Killer Bee-sama. Raikage-sama requested to give her the Jinchuuriki training. Because of the strange bond we have, she understands what I'm telling her, but she doesn't understand the language we speak. Thus, we both will be training her.'

'Another jinchuuriki, even one of such strange circumstances, is a great asset to Kumo.'

'Killer Bee-sama. You don't even know half the story. But right now it isn't the most appropriate time to discuss.'

'I see. Well, lets see what you are made of, little girl.'

Summer didn't know a lot of Japanese. But she knew what shojou meant when she heard it. She wasn't that little! But loosing his respect, when he had such special standards for respecting people was out of the question. Thus she tried to smile, though Yugito knew it was forced.

Two hours later, Summer colapsed half-dead after doing 6 laps around one of the Compound's personal training fields.

'We have a lot of work to do.' Yugito deadpanned.

'We do, we do, sadly, we do.'

'She can't start Jinchuuriki training if she isn't strong enough to take the normal ninja training.'

'_Wa...water...' _Summer's raspy whisper came from the colapsed heap on the ground.

Killer Bee threw a weak water jet jutsu at her.

'A...arigatou.' she thanked and then continued trying to gather her breath in her broken from running lungs. Why hadn't she payed more attention to her physical state? She was not too slim but she wasn't that fit either. A completely normal American girl, really. And why were they making her do laps again? Oh, yeah, she needed normal ninja training before she could endure the horrid Jinchuuriki training. Summer did a wild guess and reminded herself that Naruto had gone through rigorous training himself when he was on that trip with Jiraya and that he had ninja training before that...and he had tons of stamina. The wild guess was that all Jinchuuriki had tons of stamina. If she was a Jinchuuriki as well, then why was she a weak little weakling? Answer: Something was not right.

'_Wha...what if you're wrong? What if I'm not a Jinchuuriki?'_

'Oh. Well, you are a Jinchuuriki. But We don't know how exactly your seal works. It is possible that you may not have any access to that additional stamina. I'm sure that's what your concern is.'

'_How... how can we...check the seal?'_

'Raikage-sama and Killer Bee-sama here can check it out. They're both very able fuuinjutsu users.'

'_I really need to learn Japanese...'_Summer mumbled as she listened to what Yugito said.

'True. You understand me, but you need to understand other people as well and you need to be able to read.'

_'Can you hit me with that water jutsu again? I think Im starting to bake.'_

_'_You might get ill if we keep soaking you. Come on, get up.' Yugito pulled the girl up, who groaned with displeasure.'Killer Bee-sama, we need to go to Raikage-sama again and check her seal. It might not be letting her use the Bijuu's chakra.'

'Hmm. Allright, let's go.'

And before Summer could even yelp in surprise, she was holsted on Killer Bee's left arm and they were all off at high speeds to the Raikage office.

**_A/N: Another scene is up and now all I have to do is to change the scenery all together! Just kidding! Next chapter will be tonight, and we will find out what's wrong with Summer... or would solve a whole Jinchuuriki mystery as a whole!_**


	39. Kaminari no Kuni the TOUR!

**Chapter 39**

**Kaminari no Kuni**

Seals were a ninja commodity and at the very same time were extremely complicated as a science. In fact, if a Seal Master had a greater understanding of exact sciences, he or she would immediately compare sealing as an up most complicated form of Trigonometry. Angles, arcs, symbols in the form of Kanji and Katakana most of the time, numbers, circles, systems... It all added up to some special higher meaning. For example, there was never a 90 degrees angle in any seal. It could be minutely less or minutely more, but never 90 degrees. It was because the perpendicular notion of what 90 degrees was usually meant contradiction. Such a degree could easily kill a person, if the seal was such. Another interesting example of sealing was the mingling in the time-space continuum which the sealers themselves did not understand most of the time- they were not physicists. They knew that this seal combination will lead to this effect. People rarely experimented with seals. It was why only people like the Third Raikage, the Fourth Hokage and Orochimaru, for example, were so famous. They experimented. They succeeded where others were too afraid to mingle.

Everything was conducted by Math. Nature, time, space, you and me, sealing, the Universe. Even gods were subject to the magic-science of the mathematical equations. In a way, the Lore of Sealing was something close to godhood. It conducted the way Chakra could be bent within the laws of the Mathematical Equasions to satisfy the needs of the Seal Master.

It was with these contemplations that the Fourth Raikage found himself in the company of the enigma that was the so called malfunctioning of Summer's otherwise perfectly normal and functioning-looking Iron Armor Seal.

Summer was sleeping peacefully while under a weak sleep inducing genjutsu, in order to let him work in peace. He also didn't want her to hear what he might had to say about the seal or anything else that might come up.

The Fourth made Yugito lie next to Summer so he could compare the two seals. It was a slow and tedious ...staring...process that required his up most concentration. Killer Bee was also there, observing silently, and letting his more experienced of a Sealer older brother handle the examination.

The two seals were exact copies of each other, so A set out to search different markings or signs by which he could discern the two. His attempts proved to be futile. A was not a patient man, and as such, he let a low growl of frustration. 4 hours of strict observation and nothing. Every angle, every curve, every symbol...everything was an exact copy... A's eyes widened.

'Brother?'

'Of course. The seal is dormant. It's not logical, but that seems the case.'

'That's not possible. Not unless...'

'But I can feel the Nibi in her. It's there, Raikage-sama!'

'I can feel it there as well, Nii-san. What do you think that means, brother?'

'My theory is absolutely far-fetched and crazy, but given the events as of late...' the Raikage nodded at Summer's direction, indicating her to be the source of said events.'I believe that her Nibi is there but not in the seal. The seal is therefore empty and something else is keeping the beast inside her. Another possibility is that she might've had the beast extracted without her ever knowing it was there. That is also not entirely possible, as the seal is completely intact and working.'

'What do you suggest we do, Raikage-sama? We cannot train her if she cannot handle even the Ninja Academy type of stress.'

'We cannot do anything if we do not know what exactly we have on our hands. It was foolish of us not to check the seal when we first found out about it. The girl might be a walking time bomb, on top of everything else. I do not want my rule as a Raikage to be a repeat of my predecessor's. '

There was a moment of tense silence, in which A took his final decision.

'Bee.'

'Hai, brother?'

'Take her to your island. Whatever happens, it must happen there. I will not risk my people. Yugito, you will go with them.'

'Hai, Raikage-sama.'

**LINELINELINELINE**

Summer woke up to Yugito's gentle taps and found herself somehow back in her room in Yugito's apartment. The kunoichi moved aside to let the girl take in all of her surroundings. With sleeping jutsu it took a bit of time to wake up. Summer yawned and stretched herself, trying to further wake herself up as she just wanted to snuggle up in the comfortable bed and go back to sleep. Finally, she gave Yugito her full attention.

'Pack a bag with enough resources and clothes for a week or so. Take comfortable clothing. Everything else is unneeded. Don't take any food, we will provide for that.

'_Wait a second, Yugito. Where are we going? What's going on? Is there something wrong with my seal?'_

_'_There is nothing for you to worry about, Summah-san. We're going somewhere where we can find out more about your Bijuu.'

'_The giant turtle island?' _Summer asked excitedly. Yugito was surprised the girl even knew about it, but guessed she had probably watched it or read about it somewhere. By the honest excited look about her she could guess she really wanted to see Turtle Island.

'Yes, the ...Turtle Island.'

'_I always wanted to see that place. I get to see my true self at that waterfall and then, if I am strong enough, I get to duel with my own Nibi...'_At that point Summer had started packing, Yugito watching her with interest and a very small smile on her lips. The girl seemed to be mumbling more to herself than to Yugito.'_I'm probably not strong enough to even ATTEMPT trying to take over my __Bijuu...I wonder whether the turtle is male or female? Maybe I should pack that jacket mom gave me in case it gets cold after dark.'_

Yugito quietly left the girl to her own doings and went to her own room. She was happy the outlander was taking it so well. Maybe part of it was because she knew what it took to train as a Jinchuuriki of Cloud? Yugito was not exactly sure about that one, but she was sure that the girl had what it takes, given the proper training, to become a successful ninja of Cloud. Naturally, she did not plan on telling her that she might be a timed bomb with that inactive seal of hers. It wasn't her job to do so. It was Killer Bee's.

**LINELINELINELINE**

It was coming on to late afternoon or early evening and Yugito suggested to eat out in order for Summer to look around and get more acquaintanced with the environment. One of the thing she was surprised to hear from the girl was how the air was so clean here in comparison to her own home. She even stopped a few times to take a few deep breaths and just enjoy the purity of those breaths. Kumogakure, according to ninja village standards, was a large village, but even so there were far bigger civilian villages and she wondered where would Summer come from if she could distinguish such a great difference in the scent of the air and she was no ninja! Not yet at least.

Because of the seal exam A gave her, they had discovered something else just as startling, namely that her Chakra was of a newborn and rapidly growing. Of course, that had been obviously missed from her earlier examination due to all of them being shocked. That little revelation was of course something good, due to the fact training was going to go fast...once they figure out her Bijuu problem.

Dinner was a quiet and calm affair and Yugito had the chance to learn more about the girl she was going to help train. The same could be said vice versa, as Summer felt ever more closer to the kunoichi, feeling their bond growing stronger. To her, Yugito was something of a bigger sister she never had the chance to have. She had a calm but dominant demeanour and she also seemed almost at ease, with experience and wisdom behind her back. Her eyes were cunning, but loving and appreciating of everything she had. She was a strong woman worthy of admiration, and Summer realized yet again how lucky she was to have ended up in Kumo of all places. What if she had ended up in Rain country or, even worse, in Oto? She mentally shuddered at the thought.

That night they went to bed early.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Morning came at 5 am for Summer as Yugito woke her up with gentle taps yet again. With little to no talking they were ready to leave in an hour and at about 6:30 am they were at the Raikage's Office, waiting patiently outside for him to give them special passes. At around quarter to 7 Killer Bee also showed up, seemingly as fresh as a daisy and after the morning greetings he went back to constructing his rhymes.

While they were patiently waiting, Summer noted several things. First, despite how different things were from home, she could tell that even here people got up early to go to work. There was a sort of mundaneness, even about the ninja folk, something that made them stand out less than she thought they would. Even now, as they waited, she felt absolutely no anxiousness, because Killer Bee and Yugito were not anxious. They were doing their jobs, their duty for the village. There was nothing abnormal, despite their situation. They had their own lives, their own routines. Summer felt warm inside at the thought of how normal things were. It was also very early at the morning. Of course, Summer was not that much of an early bird, but she was also not from the type of girls that were lazy. She liked to help around the house with the chores, she liked to cook and so on.

At precisely 7 am, A's assistant opened the door and led them inside. A's office was in the next room. They heard him say 'Come in' and so they entered his office.

He was sitting there, behind his desk, diligently doing paperwork with what seemed to be a calm, but up most serious and determined face. There wasn't tons of paperwork, so Summer guessed he did his job properly. She could also see what seemed to be a glass full of some sort of protein shake.

She bowed down to him along with Yugito and Killer Bee. He gave some instructions to his two Jinchuuriki and handed them some papers, which Summer guessed were the special passes. Yugito and Killer Bee talked to him for 5 more minutes and the girl waited patiently for whatever was to come, staying perfectly still, hoping to be giving off a good impression. Finally, Yugito and Killer Bee bowed again to their Raikage and stepped aside. Summer took her cue to bow as well at which A smiled at her and said something. Once they left the office Yugito told her that he said that he was glad she had such good manners.

Summer smiled at Yugito, a very faint blush of modesty marring her cheeks. Her mother had always emphasized at proper manners, especially when around important figures of society. She would always tell her Sunshine that little politeness or little manners would go a long way, either way. Of course, her mother was right, as Summer was one of the few Honor Roll students in her High School, not because she was a Perfect A student, but because she was a diligent worker and she gave it her all in anything she did. She had won the school many prizes, but sadly the stipend she had been awarded was not enough to cover her education later on. She had a well off family, but education at one of the top musical academies in the States was, of course, notoriously expensive. She had hoped to win the first prize at the contest she was supposed to go in order to get the last few thousand dollars. But alas fate had a different path for her and here she was.

Summer did not whine or complain. She took it with a stroll, waiting to see if the turn of events was a good or a bad thing. Apparently, she was of the rare few level headed people around. And a level headed demeanour, along with her thoughtfulness were all desired traits for a ninja.

'Summah-san.'

'_What is it, Yugito?'_

_'_We will be escorted by several ninja to the coast where we will take a vessel to travel to our destination. It will take us about 2 days to get there with average speed so I hope you are not too afraid from heights or...'

'_Oh, no worries, Yugito. I understand what you mean. I will ride on one of your backs, right? This would be an interesting new experience.' _Summer smiled at Yugito and the older woman nodded, with a feeling of slight relief washing over the bond.

'It is really fascinating. Watching the two of you communicate in two different languages confirms my belief that there is nothing Chakra cannot do.'

Yugito turned to look at Killed Bee, who had stopped composing lyrics long enough to observe their little exchange.

'_What is it, Yugito?'_

'Killer Bee-sama expresses his fascination of the way we talk to each other.'

'_I find it amazing myself. Please tell him that I cannot wait to learn more of your language so that I could fully enjoy his rhymes.'_

Killer Bee smiled widely and boastfully and patted Summer on her head and then went on rapping his rhymes, which poor Yugito had to endure. His morning raps were NEVER good. They headed to get breakfast, as it was 7:30, and they were supposed to be at their designated gate at 8:00 am to meet up with their escort team. A nearby Ramen stand did the trick and soon enough they were off.

On their way to their designated gate Summer had her first taste of ninja piggy-back ride and was thrilled of the concept. For the trained body of Killer Bee she was like a feather. Her morning seemed to get better and better and their escort team was a 4-man squad of Jounin, one woman and three men, one of which was around 35-40 years old, which Summer guessed was either their Sensei or their Taichou. The other three Jounin were around her age.

The outlander girl felt giddy at the prospect of actually having an important mission along with two of her most favourite ninja ever along with several other awesome ninja. A perpetual smile had formed on her face and that smile set the mood throughout their journey.

It was a nice, sunny morning and Summer wondered if the weather was always that good and sunny and warm. About 2 hours after they had started with a normal-pace trek she took off the jacket she was wearing to reveal a nice sleeveless summer shirt underneath, letting the rays of sun caress and warm her.

Kaminari no Kuni was a land with amazing beauty. Jagged mountain peaks, vegetation, warm sun and a web of glistering rivers was all that she could see for many miles. The group walked on either carved wide stretches of road or on rope bridges or carved stone bridges. The further they went from Kumogakure, the less people they saw, most being ninja. Summer was most pleased to observe a Genin team with their female Jounin instructor happily going back to Kumo after completing their mission. As they passed Killer Bee and Yugito they all bowed to them with the words 'Jinchuuriki'. There was only one thing that went through her mind- Awesome!

Around lunch time the group stopped at a small village to have lunch and to let Summer rest for half an hour. While the road wasn't difficult to trek on, for an untrained person a 5 hour long non-stop trek usually took some form of toll. And as was stated before, Summer was no sport fan, but held up surprisingly well. She was sure that in a few more hours Killer Bee was going to carry her as the lady Jounin with them told her that it only got steeper and harder along the way.

One of the things that helped Summer fight off the fatigue of the long trek for so long, at least on the first day, was the non-stop source of general Kaminari no Kuni facts. The lady Jounin was the one that told her a lot about her home country. Of course, Yugito translated throughout the entire, and very long, conversation. Summer was fascinated when she found out that the main method of transportation in Lightning was ferries along the many rivers that cut across the massive mountain range. Most of their population, however, lived on the coast and because of that most of their food and products came from the sea side, including imports from other countries, like Fire and Wind. Sea transport was cheaper than the one on land because there was far less bandits out in the open seas than on land. Summer genuinely perked up at the possibility of a Pirate vs Ninja concept actually existing. Who wouldn't?

Apparently Kaminari no Kuni exported a large amount of exotic sea goodies, like all kinds of pearls, from white, pinkish and golden-ish to black and silvery pearls, and other such pearly stuff that Summer heard from the first time. The way the lady Jounin explained it, it seemed that the natural chakra flows affected the way the pearls would form and also there was that thing which concerned which species of clam was used and so on.

Lightning also produced high-quality wood that was, however, not enough in quantity for export, but was very sturdy and great for local use. Fire Country was still top on Wood Export and in terms of Fishing and the like Water country and Lightning were in a head on competition for the first place, with Water producing cheaper fish but less in quality, while Lightning's warmer waters offered shark, squid and not to mention their legendary Royal Red Lightning Shrimp, which the Lightning Daimiyo apparently claimed was food only for the Gods and Daimiyos like himself. There were also cheaper shrimp which Summer couldn't wait to try while on the coast.

In terms of the seasonal weather, Summer found out that this was a small period of time in which the weather was heavenly, but later on, in a month or so, the Monsoon season would start and then there would be glorious Lightning for many, many days on end. Apparently Cloud ninja had many techniques which allowed them to trek even in such a weather, at which Summer openly gasped. Yugito added her two wise cents by telling Summer that they had the worst weather in the coastal regions and that Lightning's villages were sufficiently build to withstand the fury of a full-blown Lightning storm at any moment's notice.

Another interesting fact was that Kumo had twice the amount of Genin graduating in comparison to the other Elemental countries. However, not all of them qualified for a Jounin instructor. Because of that, most of them were sent to work in villages throughout the country, helping keeping the safety and security of these villages in check. Due to the severe weather, Lightning had a very low amount of missing nin. Their ninja were not weak, however, as, unlike other country, they had to deal with an immensely more violent weather on an almost daily basis. Summer formed an image of something akin to a very versatile police. So, those Jounin-less Genin were more of a Low Genin that actual Genin, but their skills were put to good use. After 6 months they go to an exam again and those who are graded the highest marks won Jounin instructors. That way Kumo was able to take care of the need to avoid crisis as quick as possible. Some of these Lowly Genin actually remained at the job for most of their careers.

At around nightfall Summer was already piggy-back riding Killer Bee who was more than happy to rap for her along the way, for the dismay of his fellow Jounin. As Summer was on Killer Bee's back, the group as a whole had picked up the pace and in an hour or so they were finally off the mountain range, which Summer found to be very impressive, now that she could have a more complete look to it. The descent had been pretty steep but for the experienced Cloud ninja it was nothing. As Summer had turned to look at it, she decided to cherish the sight for as long as she could live. The tall mountains were like a jagged wall, with puffy clouds at the higher points and the sun peeking out behind them, its last rays gracing the sky in red, orange and pink hues to the outlander girl's joy.

It was completely dark when they arrived at a small harbour village at the bank of a rather large river. They checked in a tavern and Summer found her back and legs appreciating the amazingly comfy bed. They had rented three rooms. The women shared one and the men the other two.

In the morning Summer woke up with a rested back but aching legs. The second day of their trek was spent completely on Killer Bee's big muscular and comfortable back.

The Sea was finally visible a little after noon and Summer found it to be incredibly blue and awesome. She felt slightly put down by the fact that she didn't have any kind of swim suit to dive in in those tempting azure waters.

The coastal region was warmer and when they had finally arrived at the coastal village they were supposed to set off from she was already sporting a nice sun burn with the healthy indication of a nice tan afterwards. The coastal region was everything she imagined it to be, even far more surreal. It was strange for her to see Japanese-like structures mixed with Kishimoto's style for Kumo and the Jamaican flora and fauna was sprouting from every corner. Beautiful sands. Clear waters. Lots of boats filled with the day's produce...it was amazing.

As it was afternoon when they took the boat to the moving Turtle island, it was mid-eve when they arrived. It was dark, for Summer's disappointment, and she did not have the chance to actually see the full shape of the island sized turtle. That did not mean she did not enjoy her first ever sea trek on an awesome exotic boat like this one. She felt relieved she was not a sea-sick type of person. The dinner they had on the boat was good and finally, they were there .

The great island/turtle was shrouded in mystery, at least to Summer. And she had a good reason to feel as anxious as she felt right now. Tomorrow she was going to meet the inner her. What sort of inner doubts would she face? What sort of regrets? And what of her Nibi? The morrow was wiser than the eve, she told herself, and with that thought she went to bed, soon to be taken by the mistress of slumber.

_**A/N: Almost 4k words! Woooohooo! Anyways, this chappie is the end of this arc, sort of. I am also working on another story, namely **A timeless enchanted Adventure, **which is a Harry Potter/ Warcraft cross over. I am also writing and preparing to put up **Sasuke- God of Rock, **which for me would be a very different from my usual works, at it will not contain any original characters at all and I will try to follow Cannon as much as I can, despite the major musical-ish changes that will occur in that one. If anyone is interested, check out **akashadark**dot**deviantart**dot**com** where you can see the cover for that fanfic. It's one of the few things that I've come up with that got her inspired enough to finish a full piece in a SINGLE day! I feel awesome about it and so I will start writing on that one on and off, depending on reader interest.**_

_**I am cutting this part here as a sort of a cliff-hanger. :D! **_

_**P.S.: My goal, as always, has been 1000 reviews on a single story, as to enter that awesome community with only 1k+ reviews stories. So please, if you would be kind enough to help me in my noble pursuit of greatness by reviewing every chappie, I would be supremely grateful and will update more regularly, despite my crazy schedule. On my schedule note...MY SIS RAIDS EVERY FRIGGING NIGHT. I barely find time to write. But mom finally decided to fund the repairs of my normal PC, so now I will have more time to write once we get the PC from the maintenance shop.**_

_**Tata for now!**_


	40. NO WAI! A fan club?

**Chapter 40**

**Revelation**

_**A/N: get ready for your world to be rocked! Get ready for some tense lines! Oh, and lots of thanks to all those of you who review my chapters. I received like 6 reviews since my last update and as you can see I'm wooooorkiiiiing faaaaasteeeer. I really appreciate you guys! You fuel my muse!**_

_**I present to you...TEH AWESOME!**_

_**One month ago...**_

_'So, is it going to be napalm or '_the blonde girl shuddered with joyous anticipation and the mad scientist vibe could be even felt through the screen of The Bible.'_Thermite?'_

'_I don't know, Fia, that's too ridiculous even for us as experienced prank terrorists.'_The read-headed boy said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He looked like the absolute opposite of the 13 or so year old Fiona with his cool and calm demeanour. His hazel eyes studied her face before he sighed and answered the excited girl. '_Thermite, I guess, it's less messy and its versatile enough to not get caught.' _

Another clip was clicked and this time it was a forest, in the night, with infra red on. A 12 year old Fiona and MJ behind her were running from what looked like Customs Policemen.

'_RUN!'_

_'I'm running , I'm running!'_

The clip was closed and another one was opened up.

'_Say _Art is a Bang, un!' obviously Fiona said that, though she was not seen as she was operating with the camera.

The entire group of people chorused "Art is a Bang, un!" and then did poses for the photos. The most obvious thing about the group of people was that they looked extremely familiar. The scene changed and a silver haired woman with a VERY tall man were in focus, drinking hard liquor and laughing heartily. The woman had the distinct appearance of Hidan, which was startling. Her eyes were hazel however, and she was a woman, which were the only things that set them apart. Fiona ran across the background, holding what seemed to be a piece of chocolate cake, while MJ ran after her, in pursuit of the piece. Fiona tripped and fell face-first in the piece of cake on the ground. She was covered in chocolate and for a moment there was silence before everyone burst out laughing. Then a red haired man, apparently he was behind the camera for this scene, gave the camera to someone else and went over to say something in that same language they talked most of the time. He bore uncanny resemblance to one Akasuna no Sasori. He swiped a piece of chocolate cake from the girl's cheeks and apparently said something witty, as everyone laughed again.

Another man came into view, one with long straight blonde hair in a pony tail. He looked like a clone of Deidara, if older and way taller than him. He came in an entourage of 5 girls. He was dressed like a chef and was also holding a piece of cake.

'_How can you be so wasteful of my art, Fia? Oh wait... I mean, _good job Kyuubi brat! That's the way a cake should be taken care of. With a Bang! For my cakes are art! And Art is a BANG!'

The last sentence was chorused by everyone and the 5 red-headed Japanese women fawned all over him.

The scene changed again and there was music and people were dancing. Everyone had changed into expensive looking dresses or suits and they were all dancing tango to the rhythm of Sway me, performed by Fiona.

The clip and the entire file with the clips were closed. Another file was opened. It was labelled _'AFC'. _That folder contained a plethora of more folders and the first one was opened. It contained videos yet again. After several more videos were reviewed, that folder was closed again.

**LINELINELINELINE**

It had been three days since Sasori finally managed by some fluke of fate to open the mysterious black box with the golden letters on top. It was a computer all right. All it took was to watch very closely how the blonde girl opened it in the presence of Pein and showed him how there was nothing of interest in there but games and the like.

Pein might not have looked it, but he was no rookie. The girl was an expert at lying, but she was no Akatsuki (_**A/N: Pun intended :D**_). Pein had ordered him to try and replicate her actions. Of course, he had done that.

However, he did not know that to open _The Bible, _Fiona had to be present, or to be more exact, that delicate golden pendant she wore had to be present, as it was actually a micro chip, disguised as a pendant. Sasori had managed to open the lap top only because the girl had passed his workshop(though he did not know that). Seeing as he had no idea what triggered the opening of the computer, he had decided to look at everything in it and after three days of non-stop observation, he had found many startling, disturbing things. For one, he saw his own demise after he read the entire edition of the manga 'Naruto' in Japanese. For another, these girls were part of a fan club of apparently what was their world, realm even, in the form of this manga. And they had a fan club. The so called AFC.

Other dimensions were nothing new to dedicated seal masters, like Sasori ( who specialized in Puppetry related seals) but an entire universe that viewed their universe like some super popular story? There were not many things that made this living puppet tremble with excitement. A world full of new and amazing technology. A world where his art would be appreciated to the fullest. A world where he could just be at peace and do his art without having to do missions for the Akatsuki.

Wheels turned and plans formed.

So these outlanders were a bunch of fanatic fangirls? So what? Leader-sama thought he was a God. And then there was people like Hidan, Zetsu, not to mention Kakuzu. Now those were people with problems. At least he knew their goals. They were just fanatic fans of a great story and liked to cosplay. Here they were a bit different. They were not exactly themselves as they were hiding how much they really knew.

The real problem right now was: 'What now?'

Akasuna no Sasori knew the truth. He also knew where the rest of these cosplayers were and now that he knew the truth, he also understood the reason why they were so easily accepted into a ninja village.

Now, Akasuna no Sasori was no idiot. He was not about to go and blab to the leader the true identity of the girls. That was practically putting them on the dissection tables. And they were much more valuable than that. After all, Suna, his very own home, was now in the possession of TWO Ichibi Jinchuuriki, and right under the Kazekage's nose. And what of his old team mate Orochimaru? He had been doing some dimensional summoning research lately, a research he had started some time before defecting from Akatsuki. Research that Sasori had thought was full of horse dung. Apparently, it might not have been as he was in the possession of people with remarkable abilities, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and in the past few days. Not to mention the Mokuton girl he was in possession ever since the three women arrived in Ame. Was it possible that Orochimaru had completed that crazy summoning jutsu? His spy network was just good enough to make him think so. And then there was the other Nibi Jinchuuriki in Kaminari no Kuni that he heard about last night. He was not the gambling type, but he could bet his heart that that woman arrived at the same time the big group at Orochimaru's arrived a few days ago.

Yes, his spy network was that good.

Sasori didn't even want to start with Konoha, and that Glass Cannon girl that his agent Kabuto told him about (he yet again reminded himself to kill off the bloody traitor). He didn't know what exactly to make of it, but the pattern was clear as day if you had all the pieces.

They received Chakra upon their arrival. They possessed the same chakra make up of what they cosplayed. Or at least this was the closest thing he could logically come up with. Most of what _The Bible_ had in terms of data was in English, but he found Information in other languages, like Japanese, which was the equivalent of the language they spoke in this universe. That alone meant that Rose was a Rinnengan user because they arrived here and not because she was born with it. Fiona would be in this case a Kyuubi Jinchuuriki right under their noses and MJ would be Itachi's counterpart.

Speaking of the Uchiha, he sure didn't see that coming. The prodigy had even him fooled. But that was none of his business. Sasori had plans to fulfill. Plans involving keeping whatever plot was running this universe mostly in check as that was his best way to complete said plans. The girls had to disappear from Ame for their own good.

While Tobi turning out to be Madara was quite a surprise as well, Sasori was at least aware that the true leader in disguise was not going to be in Amegakure for another month or so, as he was yet to be even...well 'considered' for recruitment. Sasori knew of him. He knew every single ninja, official or not, missing or loyal. Mostly. Tobi was currently wreaking havoc somewhere in Land of Mountains, if he remembered correctly (which he did, since he was such an awesome ninja).

While he could not do anything right away, since that would alert Pein, Sasori decided to observe for now. Oh, and get that bloody genius of a blonde in his workshop as fast as possible. If that girl was as smart as he thought she was, she was worthy of at least a partial apprenticeship. And maybe he should teach her the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu? It was a lovely technique that he saw being done in the anime and manga he looked at. While having heard of it, he did not deem it that important, as it took too much chakra. But if he showed it to the girl ( who of course knew it) and then prompted her to 'learn' it, then he would always have a helpful hand about to clean and maintain. He liked his plan. Pein did not know his techniques that well so a little Kage Bunshin no Jutsu wasn't going to hurt anybody.

Another thing needed to be noted was the fact that he also found a plethora of weapon schematics. Weapons of mass destruction. Anyone would want them. But Sasori knew better. Sasori could also handle only one Deidara around. And if hiding that little fact to himself as well meant saving himself from Deidara's constant bragging and boasting about explosions...then so be it. There was only one true art! The eternal one!

**LINELINELINE**

_**Nowadays...**_

'Hokage-sama? Jiraiya of the Sannin, your student, is here to see you.'

'Let him in.'

The assistant bowed to Sarutobi, who was diligently going through paperwork, and opened the door fully to let Jiraiya in. Once he passed her, she closed the door, leaving the two alone in the private space of the Hokage's office.

'Sensei.'

'Ah, Jiraiya! It's very good to see you again! I see that you brought me a copy of your newest book!'Sarutobi greeted his student warmly, all the while eyeing the little orange book in the Toad Sannin's hands.

'Well, Sensei, I haven't seen you for a while, so I thought about bringing you a present.' The man smiled and gave the book to the Hokage who stashed it into his pervy drawer.'Now that the pleasantries are over, Sensei, what are these nonsense I'm reading here?'Jiraiya waved about a piece of paper in front of Hiruzen.

Sarutobi immediately grew serious and into his Hokage-mode. It was obvious from the start that this was not going to be an ordinary visit.

'These are not nonsense, Jiraiya. I believe you understand how grave the situation is?'

Jiraiya sighed but nodded.

'Good. Now listen carefully.' And Hiruzen began to explain in detail what had transpired for the last few months. By the time he completed the walkthrough, Jiraiya's eyebrows were sky high.'More than one Jinchuuriki for every tail? The Akatsuki will be the end of us if they ever found out. And ONE of them is under their nose?'

'So it seems. We have no way of removing the girls from Ame, but you can...contact... your agent there. To keep an eye out. We need to know what is going on there. But before you go, you have a seal to look at. I believe you will find it interesting.'

'That Hatorri guy?'

'The cursed seal activates when he gets angry. He is a pleasant boy with a mild character, so it isn't that much of a problem, but it is a problem none the less.'

One step at a time. It was slow, but at least Jiraiya was going to send the message to his agent in Ame...Itachi.

_**A/N: So? What do you think? Wasn't it epically awesome? I just love Sasori so much. He is the Leonardo da Vinci of Akatsuki, I swear! I wanted it to be a tad bit longer, with an actual Itachi appearance and some Kisame awesomeness as well, but sis has raids every frigging night and Icecrown Citadel won't do itself. Read and Review for faster chapters! I can't wait to see what you guys think :D.**_


	41. Mankind works in mysterious ways

**Chapter 41**

**Mankind works in mysterious ways**

Sometimes things happened in ways that were beyond a mortal's comprehension. Sometimes, a person would be given a mission to find out his targets were the same people he or she has to train for the other side. Of course, if only one Uchiha Itachi knew what would be ahead of him, what would change his destiny forever... But he didn't and that was why he could be found on his way to Amegakure along with his partner, one Hoshigaki Kisame.

It was a curious day, to say the least. Kisame and Itachi were on their way to give a bounty to a nearby village when he first got the feeling something was going to be off today. Naturally, no too soon than a few hours later, their Leader contacted them via their rings and informed them that they were to return to Ame as soon as possible. Kisame seemed to be a bit disappointed at the prospect of returning to Ame - that meant one thing. Whatever the reason for being called back, they usually had to hang out in there for at least a week before heading out again. And that meant no fighting for Kisame. He would then spar with any Akatsuki member he could get his hands on. That time he found Deidara had been an interesting event. The young bomber had a knack for throwing off Kisame as he was almost constantly dropping bombs left and right. For some reason the blonde boy had a grudge against the Uchiha and Itachi couldn't care less, which further increased the ire of the hot headed bomber artist.

He had sparred with his blue-skinned partner and he could say only one thing- the smiling demon shark was nothing less than bloodthirsty and ruthless. And he loved battles. The harder the opponents, the better.

'We're almost there, Kisame-san.' Itachi stated as they approached the gates of a small village.

'Good, because this body is really starting to stink, Itachi-san.' Kisame made a disgusted grimace and adjusted the body yet again on his shoulder.

The body was only a good few hours cold but Kisame's nose was better than probably all of the nin dogs in Konoha, which alone proved to be one of the few things to get the smile off the blue man's face. God forbid someone passed gas in a three mile radius of Kisame and had some really hot curry for his last meal. He remembered the consequences. An entire village was destroyed.

Even though Kisame was extremely animalistic some times, he was somewhat pleasant company for the silent Uchiha. That being said, Kisame was a pleasant company when he wasn't trying to get Itachi drunk, laid, high or all of them together. Kisame had a somewhat twisted sense of humour that sometimes brought Itachi to wit's end. Like that first time he got completely smashed and woke up with a beautiful woman twice his age. And he was bloody 13. Or that time when he had managed to spike his poky and he ended up destroying a village because he became super paranoid. Aside from those less than glorious moments, Kisame was a pleasant company. Or at least Itachi tried to think of him as such, especially when even he, the god of deadpan, was at his break point due to something Kisame was trying to 'gank' him with.

Akatsuki were the finest of the finest. But even they had their...well... bad moments. It was one of the reasons why they were paired up in such a way. All of them had their quirks. For example, there was this time when Itachi had gone on a mission with Kakuzu. Things were going super smooth until Kakuzu's frenzy went out of control and the two of them nearly killed each other, given that Itachi stopped the battle with a mangekyuu, but the older ninja had more experience than him and thus Itachi was not unscathed. Deidara would never be given a mission with Itachi, even if their skills actually complemented each other. Deidara hated Itachi's guts to the point of self destruction. Literally.

Now, if he had been a fan of the Sookie Stackhouse vampire mysteries, or by some miracle knew Fiona Johnson personally, she would've laughed at the two youngest Akatsuki's predicament and would've suggested to 'Solve their little alpha problem in bed (she would watch).' Thankfully, he was yet to meet her, so his psyche would be spared the prospect of hearing this particular suggestion.

Ahem. Back to the story.

Itachi went alone in the underground morgue where the bounty would be gathered, as per usual. Kisame was probably in some brothel, enthralling young prostitutes with his size and muscles. As strange as it sounded, Kisame was popular with women. It was one of the things that Itachi dubbed as 'female things that I don't understand'. And since he went through puberty as a missing nin...well, those things covered a lot of ground. It was a given that he was the god of deadpan. He was also incredibly patient, but the god of Patience was Leader-sama, as he managed to stay completely cool even when the newest member- Hidan, would go out of his way to insult Leader in every way possible. One of his more memorable comments were along the lines of 'Scat-Meister, Golden Rain Maker, Pin-cushion Uke and the ever-popular Bent Kunai remark, aka Kunai Bender'.

And so, as Itachi retrieved the reward from the bounty, he also received a small note, probably from Jiraiya, in which he was given the mission to look for some girls in Ame. Of course, as stated in the beginning of this chapter, Itachi had no idea that the events that would come were going to change his destiny. And so, he was actually glad for once that said hidden mission was on his way and was actually going to be an easy one.

True to his suspicion, Kisame was in the local brothel, surrounded by half naked women, giggling like school girls at his manliness.

To Kisame's utter mystery, Itachi was also popular with women. He had the dark and mysterious thing going on. But Kisame found Itachi to be rather girly looking, to Itachi's utter annoyance, but of course, Kisame stated nowadays that after a few more years he would look a wee bit more masculine and that at least people would not mistake him for a flat-chested girl.

If Itachi was the type, he would have sweat dropped. But instead, he ignored Kisame's statements. Funny thing was that Kisame was actually sympathetic of Itachi's so called predicament. And so he tried to make him as manly as possible. That involved hard liquor and nasty women. Itachi would be more than grateful if Kisame kept his nose in his own busyness, but we all know how sensitive Kisame's nose is. So Itachi was sort of stuck with his... sympathetic animalistic large blue skinned, shark-looking partner of his.

And so, Itachi tried to convince Kisame that their mission was more important than women. After some half an hour, Itachi was well on his way to being completely smashed, while a lovely brunette was sitting on his lap and whispering dirty things in his ear. He would regret the hang over the next morning, especially when his Sharingan induced head aches were more than enough.

Then again, this event was not as horrid as the time when he had a duo mission with Kakuzu and his partner, the one before Hidan. Kisame had managed to get both him and Kakuzu's now long dead partner drunk, and, to top it all off, Leader-sama had contacted them. What could Itachi say? Leader-sama had the uncanny ability to contact them via their rings in the most inopportune moments ever. Of course Leader-sama had to contact them in that particular moment.

Kakuzu, who also heard the conversation that transpired with the two drunken Missing nin and one happy blue Akatsuki, barged in to see his partner give Leader-sama the finger. Naturally Kakuzu was this close to go completely nuts. The delicate situation escalated into a full blown cataclysm when Kakuzu's partner tipped the waitress. Yet another small village completely obliterated from the face of the planet.

It seemed that Akatsuki had plenty of those...

Ahem.

The next morning Itachi was in a definite foul mood due to the hang over, while Kisame was as fresh as a daisy ( was he ever anything less?). It was due to Kisame's sensitive nose that allowed the blue man to register Itachi's disposition. Of course, Kisame had to rub it in.

'Itachi-san, isn't it a lovely sunny morning? You should take off the hat to enjoy a bit of sun. I doubt you would see any in Ame.'

'Hn.'

Of course, Kisame just HAD to rub it in. It was early morning and the sun was still low enough to annoy the hung over Uchiha, even if his hat was so low.

Kisame grinned a sharp toothy grin at his partner. He was probably one of the few people that dared to joke with the Uchiha. Itachi appreciated it, given his dreadful task, but he appreciated it when he felt a bit more content. Right now he wanted nothing less than to use his Sharingan on Kisame to get him to shut up. Luckily, Kisame knew his partner's limits. And so he did not give the Uchiha a reason to death glare him. Smiling was not enough a reason, tee hee. And Kisame exploited that to Itachi's annoyance.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Yet another rainy day, yet another microwave explosion...wait what?

Pein had found himself babysitting his three charges more often than he would ever admit. And they were not small children either. In a ninja world, these three chica's were full blown women. Then again, it was not MJ and Rose who gave him any problems. It was that devious blonde that came up with new ways to blow up household items. Or to annoy his ninja, especially the ones he sent to train them. MJ and Rose did not give him problems, but they sure stuck to Fia's excuses and alibis even if they ALL knew it was a complete lie. He would give them, as Fia would often put it, 'brownie points' for being such loyal friends. Loyalty was probably one of the most cherished ninja trait.

But then again the blonde needn't cause him so much trouble, especially now that she somehow survived blowing up her kitchen without a scratch. There was something fishy about that, but he had noticed for some time now how fast a healer she was. But this was not so relevant right now. The relevant part was why she tried to warm a glass bottle full of sake in the microwave. He was 100% sure she knew what the results would be. Then why? He did not exclude the possibility of her being a pyromaniac that needed her pyro fix. He was pretty sure that was at least part of the case, as he already dealt with Deidara's bombing eccentricities. Since he had his fear of Amegakure being blown up by Fia, he ordered both her and Deidara separately to steer clear from each others company. Not that Deidara had any fault, but one should not underestimate a professional cook and a missing nin's love for home-cooked food. And the blonde was exceptional at making friends from unexpected sources and he knew it was not beneath her to steal some of Deidara's clay when he wouldn't be looking.

As of the last month, Fiona's stealing skills came as one of the things that took him by surprise. Maybe there was something to that paranoia that caused their sensei's to give up this easy job. The girl's fingers could make even a puppet master like Sasori jealous, which was probably why he had taken up to going with Deidara for a visit now and then. While Deidara was not allowed to communicate directly with Fiona and vice versa, he was free to talk with his fellow artist, Jessica, who more than gladly kept Fia from Deidara, obviously being driven by the same fear that Fiona would blow up Ame just to see if she could.

Back to the topic at hand.

Fiona's motives for blowing up her kitchen were unclear. Still, she made a great deal with the local construction material shop and she was more than happy to redecorate the place. Pein was a ninja and not an expert chemist, so he lacked the possibility of her blowing up her kitchen to have access to chemicals of various origins. Hidan and Kakuzu were on a mission and were going to return in a week or so, which meant that Hidan was not going to kill himself several times from the mere thought of Fiona not having a kitchen, which also meant that Pein would have less paper work.

The leader of Ame shook his head. How had he come to be a person who mused over such ridiculous things? It was all that blonde's fault, but instead of dismissing her for her odd doings, he cherished those precious skills which could be honed into a powerful ninja. She appeared to be a helpless good looking blonde angel with blue eyes, and yet she had the mind of the devil himself- ingenious and inventive, with a wild imagination and a great understanding of the human psyche. She was one of a kind piece of work, and more often then not Pein thought of her as an asset, and not as a drawback to Ame. The girl was just too idle and every body knew that idle minds were the devil's play ground. And she was already a little devil in an angel's guise.

He looked over again their reports. The girls were doing well in Ame and they seemed surprisingly adaptive. The Karaoke night was an ever-popular one for them and they could be seen there often enough. MJ had taken to drawing ever so fervently, to both Sasori and Deidara's delight and the three of them could be seen either in Sasori's workshop or in the three girl's apartments. Apparently MJ's meeting with Sasori and Deidara had been a good thing, since Fiona met with Sasori soon enough and had pointed out that he was a puppet on the spot. That lead to many things, one of which being her occasional stop by Sasori's workshop to help him fix joints.

Why Sasori actually let her even touch his puppets was a mystery to him. Pein wondered idly if Fia ever saw what Sasori looked like, as he, himself, never really saw him either. Pein had the suspicion that Sasori seemed a bit too impressed by the girl, possibly considering taking her as an apprentice. While he was not against it because that would get her out of his hair for a while, he was also not entirely sure if that is a good idea.

Fiona already spent too much time tinkering whatever she could find in her apartment and he had more often than not seen random gadgets about her living space that spoke volumes of how deep did her engineering prowess went. He had seen her once or twice staying awake at night tinkering with some metal parts and making weird devices . She would take notes in that strange language of hers and she would take the gadgets apart. That happened usually very early in the morning when neither MJ nor Rose were awake. He would see that grave concentration gleaming through her azure eyes, he could feel the delicate mind processes going on in her head as her fingers moved with swiftness and grace building and taking apart.

In a way, he found himself fascinated by her. There was a certain something about her that drew in people whether they wanted it or not. At first he had noticed it when Hidan and Kakuzu had started to come over for lunch and dinner. Then he had noticed it with the shop keepers she regularly bought stuff from. She possessed that innocent charm of a young girl and yet, when he watched her create bizarre items, she was like a completely different person, only that she was not. There was the same determination and dedication, the same stubbornness. She reminded him somewhat of Yahiko. And then she would cackle evilly in a dramatic fashion and all of the similarities would break like glass. Was she never calm? Was she never tranquil?

He had paperwork to do and he would not delve further into that.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Ninjas tended to walk on buildings and jump on roof tops. Non-ninja did not do that. Then why, for Kami's sake, were those three girls, who lived on the seventh floor of a ten-story building, hanging outside of their windows? That was what the current ANBU watching them wanted to know. Of course, they were ready to catch them if they fell, but why the hell were they cleaning their windows with what seemed to be old news papers and...sake?

…

Oh.

…

Those windows were DAMN shiny now. Apparently sake and news papers did wonders for cleaning up glass. It was a nice and sunny afternoon, one of the few sunny days during this time of the year. It had been several months since the girls had arrived and things had fallen into a content (most of the times) routine which allowed most ANBU to take shifts while watching them.

The same could not be said for those who were supposed to be their senseis. The girls tended to say a lot of inside jokes which worked quite a number on the poor ninja who tried to train them. They were too paranoid. Despite that drawback, the girls could not successfully pull off Academy level techniques.

MJ was obviously the best in Taijutsu, while her chakra control lacked a great deal. Rose was mediocre with good enough moves and a decent Henge, Kawarimi and Bunshin. Fiona almost failed her physicals, calling on her lung problem, or namely lacking a third of her right lung. It was an interesting show the second time that she went to the hospital to prove she lacked a piece of her lung.

She did manage to pass due to her perfect Kawarimi, which she found out was great for quick short distance travel. Her Henge was even more superb, given that she could even pull of Leader-sama's voice with surprising accuracy. They might not have known it, but you cannot obsess over someone without at least knowing every single detail about them. As it turned out, her chakra pool was too big and she failed to do a proper bunshin, which, to the ANBU's amazement, did not lead to a cry-fest, as they expected. She did look disappointed though. Of all things genjutsu oriented, she was highly resistant to them, which she claimed was due to her incredible intellect.

As things were, all three of them were ready in different decrees to become ninja and right about now all they needed was a Sensei to take care of them. If it were a man, he would be blessed and cursed at the same time. Three hot chicks with their own quirks. But it was usually Fiona that cause the most trouble and the other two just took it with stride and played along.

And so, the girls were yet again sensei-less, and they were filling their time by cleaning up their apartments or helping Fia (not really) to fix her kitchen. Despite all of the time they have spent in Ame, they still did things their own way, for example cleaning. MJ was a cleaning freak and demanded all of the apartments be completely rid of all sorts of uncleanliness. The big exception was Fia's apartment where the kitchen was in the final stages of being complete. The new kitchen actually reminded Fia of home, as it looked the one at her house in Paris. It had everything she needed and where she needed it. Due to the fact she had struck an incredible deal with the materials guy, she had had some extra cash left to buy several new appliances, like a separate big freezer for all those sausages she made and other things. She had also bought a drier for her herbs and some other things she found useful in one way or another. The ANBU were also surprised how she could do things so well when she was motivated to. Things like cleaning and painting the walls, making a new table from scratch and other such things. She was a handy woman, through and through. And she had always said that her strength was in her arms and not her legs.

Of course, there was one change that the ANBU were bound to notice around their neighborhood. The complete and utter lack of critters. It was like they had disappeared. That mystery was solved one night, when of the ANBU who watched over them saw how Fiona nonchalantly took the ninja notices from in front of her apartment door and the doors of MJ and Rose and promptly dipped them into one of the paint buckets, after which she lit them of fire and threw them out the window. Somehow, the burning papers landed perfectly on a new bird family's nest and the entire family of 2 adult birds and 4 chicks burned alive due to the paint covering them.

They did not know whether it was on purpose or not, but the blonde had definitely smirked with an evil glint in her eyes, and went to sleep humming a random tune. And since I am such a good author I will tell you, my readers, that yes, it was on purpose.

_**-Flashback-**_

'Come on sweety, go feed the birdies!' Fia's mom, Jubilation smiled at her 4 year old daughter who watched with uncharacteristic for a little girl suspicion at the flock of pigeons.'Take this piece of bread and just throw crumbs at them, sweetheart'

'If you say so, mom. But if they attack me, I will not be responsible for what is to happen next.'

Jubilation sighed. That week she had taken her little angel to a psychiatrist just to check if everything was normal with her little angel. She had the suspicion that her baby might be autistic, given how she acted more like a grown up that a 4 year old. And her articulation was too perfect for someone her age.

Apparently, her little girl was not autistic, but she appeared to be some sort of genius, as when she had taken her to this really good shrink, they started off a conversation that would be considered normal for an interaction between an adult and a 4 year old.

But from things like 'do you like candy? What is your favourite color?' the conversation turned to a heated discussion about who would win the elections this year, the Democrats or the Republicans. Obviously, her little girl loved to watch the news. She should've kept her attention on her daughter's so called needs by providing her with children shows instead of watching CNN all the time. Jubilation was not a perfect mother, but her TV tastes seemed to suit her little girl's needs.

Then again, as all parents know, TV is a dangerous thing.

'Sweetie, just throw a crumb to the pigeons like this. They wont harm you. They're just critters.'

'Squirrels are pretty deadly when cornered. And they're just critters too.'

'Honey, please act like the other children. None of them are attacked by pigeons.'

'They've accumulated a false sense of security.'

When the hell did her Fiffie learn these big words?

'Fia, sweetie...'

'Did you know birds evolved from raptors? Those big mean lizards with teeth and sharp wicked claws?' Fia said that a wee bit too loud.'The type that rip and devour little children like myself.'

A girl next to Fia started crying.

'Fia, Pigeons are harmless little birds, they would never hurt anybody.'

'You said the same about the squirrel and I had to get a rabies shot.' Fia squinted her eyes at her mother in an accusing fashion.

'That didn't mean you had to try and capture those baby squirrels. Nobody likes when someone tries to steal their babies.'

'But I wanted a pet.'

'Fia-'

All hell broke loose as a pigeon landed on the head of the crying girl and she started screaming about being eaten alive by pigeons. That resulted into a mass panic attack among the 4 year old population. The entire park was in chaos by the time Fia and her mom got to the nearest taxi cab.

'You're grounded.'

'But-'

'Did you see what happened?'

'But-'

'And no candy!'

'But-'

'Shush, Fia. Wait till your father gets home and hears about this! I can't even go to Prospect park without you causing utter chaos! And you were supposed to be some child prodigy!'

_**-End of Flashback-**_

Of course, there was no way for the ANBU to know that by the time Fia was five, her interests had taken her from just biology to anatomy and she had spent a lot of hours capturing and dissecting animals. And since she loved to watch and sponge whatever the TV threw at her, by the time she was 7, she was already hunting or just plain killing the poor critters in a stealthy manner as a sport. She even kept count. It was also one of her more disturbing traits, which had earned her the status of Pariah in her elementary school.

A child prodigy that was often grounded for anything she did, Fiona grew somewhat distant from her parents and divulged herself in her interests at the time. It was sad, but due to her complete disregard of science morals, Fiona was also given many detentions at school. That resulted in her being rather vengeful at times and it was around the time when the bullies seemed almost too much for her to handle, that she took her...enthusiastic approach towards the lower life forms, as she called them at the time.

By the time she was 8, she was about to turn into a violent sociopath of a prodigy. And then she met her cousin Hatorri. For many years, the Johnson twins were in a severe fall out, for reasons unknown to this day by Fia. Around the time a wee bit before Fia met her cousin for the first time, his mom, Sarah, and his dad were fighting on and off and the divorce would come several years later. Due to the fact that the family had no ill feelings against Sarah, the Americanese woman tentatively asked if Hatorri would stay with them for a while until things settled between her and her husband. Jubilation and Johnathan accepted, if reluctantly, to take a very shy and apprehensive Hatorri.

Their friendship had bloomed almost immediately, save for the first week where neither child was brave enough to even talk to each other, both stealing glances now and then. At first, Fia had thought her parents were going to replace her with Hatorri, but after several days of extensive eavesdropping in the air-shafts, that Hatorri was there because his parents were falling out with each other. What sympathy was left in the girl made her try and be nice to Hatorri, which resulted in them becoming the first friends they ever had.

Those were sweet times in the summer of 2003 in Paris. Hatorri was a shy and apprehensive boy and he was such a kind soul that there was no way for anyone not to love him. He grew up into a confident young gentleman with many friends on which he could count on and which could count on him. But it was in that summer of 2003 that a major change transpired for all of them.

It was the same year in which MJ's brother died, protecting his sister from stray bullets in a mall. It was the next year, that Fiona would 'lose' herself in the British museum and the two of them would meet, starting another beautiful friendship. At that time, 2004, Leopold's parents would move down the street from Fia's house. And around that time she would make her first actual rival...

Those were good days, with all the good and all the bad. It was those days that shaped them all. And to think all of this started by watching CNN for the first few years of your life... Mankind works in mysterious ways...


	42. Paradigm of Chakra Science

**Chapter 42**

Paradigm of the Biochemistry of Chakra

'Leader-sama.'both Itachi and Kisame bowed respectfully to their leader.

'You are late by a whole day.' Pein stated with his monotone of a voice, not a single gram of emotion in it. They tried to apologize but the spiky haired man cut them to it. 'Silence. I have solo missions for you. Itachi, your presence is required here in Ame. Kisame, you are to escort Tobi back from the Land of Mountains to Mist. Details are in your report. You may go.'

Kisame bowed and with not another word left Itachi and Pein alone in the office.

'Itachi, your mission here will be an unorthodox one. I have come into the possession of three special girls and I believe your skills will be sufficient to provide some training. Do not take the mission lightly as some of my best ANBU have failed to handle them. You are not to harm them in any way or you will feel the consequences. You may go.'

Itachi was baffled by what Pein had given him. Just from the fact he sent Kisame to get Madara back to Mist, he was sure that Pein was trying to hide these girls from Madara for some reason-

…

Wait a minute.

Itachi took a quick peak at his mission file. The missing nin Uchiha had struck gold. Of course. These were his targets. Itachi couldn't believe his luck as he read his mission file more thoroughly. Being a good ninja meant having somewhat good instincts and Itachi's instincts were telling him something was very off with these girls. Why was both the Hokage and Pein interested in them? The only thing he knew about them was that they knew some very valluable information about Konoha, but instead of ordering him to kill them, his job was to make sure they were okay.

Things got more bizarre, given the fact that Hokage-sama was not to contact Itachi at all. Even with Jiraiya's spy network. Pein could read minds. He even knew Itachi's actual status but he did not know this was also part of his mission to spy on Akatsuki activity. Why would the Hokage risk to even contact him? Why? He couldn't wrap it around his mind.

But as he read the report and saw the pictures, something nudged him that there was more hidden underneath the underneath, than he was consciously aware of. Of course. The Rose woman possessed the Rinnengan. That was enough reason to keep them hidden. It was a good thing that Madara cared little for any actual Ame affairs and that gave Pein a lot of leeway in some areas, like this local missions. But Madara was bound to notice something, as Pein had pulled him in just to train the girls. Things just got curiouser and curiouser.

Rose had a fleeting resemblance with Leader-sama, while he just couldn't put his finger on the Fiona girl. Her report had things like 'deceptively strong', 'smart and devious', and he even saw the word 'prodigy' thrown in several times. She looked really, eerily familiar. Her blond hair and blue eyes reminded him of the Yondaime Hokage, whose distinct blonde colour was well known. He had even heard rumours that for a short period of time after the third ninja war, their Kage had ordered to kill any blonde blue eyed newborns, just in case they were the Yondaime's. Of course, those rumours were just that- rumours, and were nothing more than another addition to the ever growing legend that was Namikaze-sama. The ridiculous thought of her being his relative or kid even crossed his mind for a fleeting moment before being dismissed as ridiculous, as she was too old to be his child, legal or not.

When Itachi saw MJ's picture, he blinked a few times. Yes, there was an uncanny resemblance. He thought for a second that Pein was playing a joke on him by putting his picture. But her crystal blue eyes and slightly pink pale complexion distinguished her as a beautiful elegant female. Was it possible for her to be some sort of Uchiha? Considering the fact that Pein wanted him to train all three of them, that was a possibility he was not about to disregard. What if he had to kill her if she turned out to be one? The Hokage had given him strict orders NOT to harm them and so did Pein.

Here were the facts. Both the Hokage and Leader-sama had given him basically the same orders: Watch over the girls and don't harm them. They were extremely important for some reason. For a first time for a long time, Itachi found himself wanting to know why those girls were important. He presumed that both the Hokage and Leader-sama knew why they were so important. Even if that was not the case, the way the mission was worded gave him leeway to find out more about them.

There was also the possibility of Pein knowing Itachi was ill for some time now and him wanting to give him a vacation of sorts by giving him an easy mission. But that theory went off the window as Pein had told him not to take them lightly. How the hell had Pein allowed these girls to actually make his ANBU leave a mission as easy as this one?

Oh. There it was. In the mission file. The girls spoke with a vast amount of 'code words' which made the ANBU ever so edgier. And the Blonde one seemed to be quite the annoying brat. He had his hands full, apparently.

Well, he was not Uchiha Itachi for nothing, the god of deadpan.

**LINELINELINE**

Rain was especially viscous for the past week and Fia found herself grudgingly washing her windows with newspapers and sake for a third time this week. Having her new kitchen complete, she felt yet again content enough to try and extract whatever dangerous concoction she could from the left over paint. Her small pot garden was doing nicely as well and soon enough she would have enough herbs to dry for long-term spices.

A sad but true fact was that she found things like these extremely important. They were occupying her from thinking about home and about her friends. Had it really passed so much time? How could she forget that her birthday was two months ago? These were all things that started to frighten her. The prospect of never seeing home again was striking her every morning when she woke up. There was a sense of loss and bitterness. Fia was homesick. And it wasn't just her. Among the three of them, Rose was being the most stoic one, taking the challenges of life with a stride, if only for their sake. Even if she was a friend, she was 7 years older than them, enough to make her mother them from time to time. It was nice to know someone cared for her.

Fiona often wondered how long she would've lasted if she was all alone. She feared being alone. Even if the Narutoverse was a familiar place, nothing would be compared to the lack of someone to talk to, someone to understand you. It was these sort of morbid thoughts and the lack of anything better to do, that forced her to go out of her way and clean her apartment herself for a change. She hated doing that if only because she liked the sense of her very own ordered chaos. And Hidan and Kakuzu were going to be back any day now, so she wanted to surprise them with a nice big welcome back meal.

True, the Akatsuki were formidable ninja, but given the fact that the three of them were on their side (for now) they were no threat to them and thus they felt free to try and actually be friendly with them.

When Hidan had started stalking Fia on a daily basis for food, MJ had stated that Fia's cooking was both a blessing and a curse. But then again, there wasn't a missing ninja who wouldn't weep of joy at the prospect of eating a king's meal, a warm one to boot! Whether by accident or not, Fia's cooking gave her a form of control over the two Zombie brothers. That control concerned the saying that the way to a man's heart was through their stomachs. In Fia's case, Hidan was more prompt to listen to her on his own free will than to listen to Leader-sama. And for Kakuzu, that spoke volumes of how good a cook she was. Then again he ate from that same hand, so he was in no position to speak. And why did he do that? What was better than a free meal? Absolutely nothing. Didn't you see the FREE part?

Of course, a ninja was more likely to come back home from a mission earlier than later, if they knew there was warm home-cooked meals on the way.

Due to that fact, Rose even stated once, semi-jokingly, that Fia's cooking should be considered a double S-class, or SS-class ninja technique, as nothing quite shut up Hidan than her cooking. Of course, Hidan had not been there or else she would've found herself in a very bad situation.

And then we had MJ, who had become notorious in the past few months throughout the Akatsuki with her non-existent cooking skills. It was cute, really. The way she tried to do both the puppy dog eyes and play the part of the ice princess of doom. That usually happened in mornings when Fia would for some reason or other forget to visit her mates and they would be unfed for several more hours.

While Fia had garnered a very small, but faithful and powerful Akatsuki group of fans with her cooking, MJ had managed to get a substantial crowd of ninja.

How did she do that? With her amazing martial arts skills.

Now, before I explain in detail how that happened, here is a little lesson about the Keats clan. For the past 700 years, the Keats family have been into the medical field, producing many high quality doctors, some of which have even been part of the British Crown's personal doctors. The Keats were also notorious with their athleticism, or more importantly, their love for sports, martial arts and exotic pass-times, like bungee jumping and other such dangerous hobbies.

Around the beginning of the 19th century the Keats clan produced a vast number of field medics who spent a great deal of time travelling about the world with the British army. It was in that part of the Keats' history that they got a hang on martial arts and other such interesting things. MJ, as any loyal Keats clan member, did not tell anyone, even Fia, that the library in her home, one of the many Keats manors, contained an amazing number of martial arts techniques, exotic medicines, and secret knowledge of the eastern world. In short, MJ's Martial Arts prowess was not accidental. It was a talent that she decided to hone after her brother had died. And that would also explain why MJ's dad has such kick ass awesome abs, butt and moobies (man boobies) that Fia adored oh so much, to MJ's chagrin.

Every morning, for the past two months, MJ would get up early ( 7 am, though that was not early by Fia standards, which were illogical to a normal human being's mind) and she would go to the nearby training ground 17, where she would proceed to do her warm ups and then her Katas, in several different styles. She would start with performing the base Katas for the Kung Fu primary styles and then she would move on to more complex Katas of the same school. Then, if she felt like it, she would practice some Kapoeira and do some free style moves. Funnily enough, it was those amazing back flips and jumps of her free styling that garnered her amazing crowd of hard core ninja. MJ was not a bragging person, but she had the decency to look smug. It was not every day that you impressed real ninja, most of which were B-rank or above missing nin. Especially when she used the 'urban' ninja moves on them. She always found it funny. But then again ninja used chakra to propel them and their various acrobatic stunts. She didn't use chakra and was as good as them. And some of them were ANBU!

But apart from that, she had tons of problems with her chakra. Namely, she couldn't pull off even a decent Kawarimi! Except that time when their teacher, a very frustrated woman, threw a Kunai behind her back and she instinctively used the Technique to avoid being injured. At least she wasn't worried she was some sort of Rock Lee copy. The mere thought had her almost devastated at times. Not that her usually calm expression showed anything. That didn't mean that after spending so many years with a mad blonde prodigy, the said genius wouldn't be able to read her emotions correctly. MJ always thought it a wonder how someone who could practically write the bible of reading and dissecting the human psyche and the human emotions could have non-existent social skills. Then again, she would always remember that Fia lacked the concept of common sense.

Back to topic.

Her ninja crowd was extremely impressed by her moves. She liked it when her physical abilities were so greatly appreciated. She always prided herself with being the best among martial artists. It was a testatement of her hard work, discipline and will to become better. She had always been a student with perfect grades and perfect record. Her real life was exceedingly normal, compared to the chaos and exhilaration that Fia had brought into her world. It was an interesting thing. Chaos. In the times when her settled world was crumbling down, it was that interesting fact she had discovered that pulled her from the pit of self-despair and damnation. It was OK to have chaos in your life. It was OK to do crazy things from time to time. It was OK to be different and to be what you wanted to be. Fia's lifestyle was all about chaos. Or the ordered chaos as her blonde friend would call it. It was that simple fact that made her understand that things like her brother's death happened. That there was always going to be unfairness in the world. It was inevitable and one could not hide from it. While the pain was not less in any way, she understood it better. She understood what had happened. And it happened everyday. All around the world. It was part of the cycle of life.

Death.

It was not an end, Fia would say, quoting to some extent Albus Dumbledore. It was another fascinating journey to undertake.

Now, 9 years after the death of her brother, MJ did not fear death. She respected it. And in the process of reaching this enlightenment, she had found close friends.

There weren't many people that knew what MJ did outside of school. Mostly the teachers and that was only about the tournaments she went to. MJ found it funny how most snobbish children (and yes, she thought of herself as a snob, no need to deny the truth) avoided Anime and casual TV shows in general JUST because those were things for the lower classes. Being a young lady of aristocratic descent, MJ went to private school for girls like herself where there things she did were considered supremely unwomanly. Why the martial arts were so unappreciated by her peers was beyond her. Then again she was a Keats and martial arts were an art like any other art.

MJ did not consider herself the most popular girl in her private school, but she was definitely the BEST student there, for which she earned a great deal of respect and envy. Furthermore, MJ rarely communicated with anyone who dared call her Michelle, instead of Michael. Funnily enough, MJ was Michelle by passport. Go figure.

Icy cold demeanour and snobbish over all attitude were her trade mark. To her close friends however, she was the delicate and gentle girl with sharp wits and even sharper tongue and the kick ass martial arts skills. And they loved her for who she was. Those were the people she respected and cherished. Their caste didn't matter. They were their true selves. And they understood each other.

All of this became relevant when one took a closer look at how that discipline, hard work and will combined with her natural perfectionist's attitude and desire to be the best. All of those things shaped her into a true martial artist. Every move had to be perfect, natural and yet understood for what it was. Every kick had to come from the force of her momentum and the intent of her mind. Her body was part of her. Her mind was her. She was both in control of body and mind. And both parts, metaphorically heaven and earth, were in perfect equilibrium with each other. The perfect balance.

Balance that kept her from developing her chakra control further. Those that didn't know of her chakra problem marvelled her 'amazing chakra control' and her outstanding ability to 'conceal her chakra'. Those that knew her realized the same thing that she did- she would either become an extremely powerful ninja once she mastered her chakra, or she would have to rely on Taijutsu. MJ dreaded the second prospect.

The 16 year old felt slight envy towards Fia and L-chan. How come they managed to learn faster than she did? She was far superior to them in terms of ninja-ness! But maybe the saying was right. Maybe her cup was already too full with her previous non-chakra training? She had no idea what to do from this point on and neither did their senseis. Though they never stuck long enough to divulge themselves in her problem. They had never seen anything like this before, either. At least she didn't have Rock Lee's problem.

As a matter of fact, MJ tended to relieve her dreadfulness with that thought a wee bit too often for someone like her.

**LINELINELINE**

It was dinnertime for the three chica's and MJ looked a bit downcast, according to Fia's _**"MJ's expressions- the guide book"**_. Being the awesome blonde genius that she was, Fiona immediately had pin-pointed the problem. What else would've been making the ice princess do the one of a kind deadpan sulk? Or the deadpan sad face combined with the deadpan sad sigh? Or the deadpan pout? In Fia's opinion, MJ was currently being one big deadpan crybaby. Shame on her!

'You know -munch- I've been thinking.'Fia suddenly said, while pointing at MJ with a half-eaten chicken leg in hand. The blonde stopped chewing the chicken bite and swallowed .

'Hm?'

'Your chakra problem.-bite-munch-'

'What about it?' There was a microscopic hint of annoyance in MJ's otherwise calm voice.

'It reminds me of a chemical equilibrium.-swallow-bite-munch-'. There was a short pause in which Rose looked at Fia as well. 'You see-munch- in a chemical process, chemical equilibrium is the state in which the chemical activities or concentrations of the reactants and products have no net change over time. Usually, this would be the state that results when the forward chemical process proceeds at the same rate as their reverse reaction. The reaction rates of the forward and reverse reactions are generally not zero but, being equal-'

'Fia, could you please swallow that?'MJ shivered in disgust and appeared to be close to vomiting' I think I will have nightmares tonight.'

'-swallow- As I was saying, the reaction rates of the forward and reverse reactions are generally not zero BUT, being equal, there are no net changes in any of the reactant or product concentrations. This process, as you well know-'

'Fia, put the chicken leg on your plate and please finish what you're trying to say and THEN continue eating.'

'Spoilsport. You're three hours early to be PMSing.'

MJ rolled her eyes.

'It must be some sort of acclimatization process. Those things are always slow when it comes to-'

The raven-haired girl narrowed her eyes at her obnoxious blonde friend.

'Just continue.'

'Feh. Anyway, the process is called dynamic equilibrium.'

'And what does high school chemistry have to do with Michael's problem?' L-chan asked curiously. She knew there was going to be some sort of bizarre illogical but actually logical explanation about to be told.

'Let me get to the point. I'm trying to be as short as possible for you slow pokes, sheesh.'

'Fia.'

'Shush, I'm trying to think here.'

L-chan and MJ gave each other knowing looks.

'So, lets say **xA+yB → mC+nD**, In MJ's case **A** would be...lets say her gyrus precentralis and...'

'Her what?'

'Gyrus Precentralis, Rose. My motor centre.'

'I find solace in my superior law knowledge.' L-chan huffed semi-jokingly.

'Touché.'

'Ahem, I'm the one explaining things! Anyways, **A** is gyrus precentralis and **B** would be MJ's locomotor system. So, when MJ wants to walk, a signal is sent to **A, **which would make that signal **C**, and to actually make that move, she has to send another signal from her gyrus precentralis to her locomotor system. That signal would be **D**. That's the dumb ass heavily edited version of what I'm trying to say.

So, how does all of this add to MJ's Chakra problem. Well, lets add chakra to the system and see what happens with the equilibrium, shall we? Let's call chakra **X,** like chemical X from the power-puff girls. They're awesome! So, that would make our system look like something like this:

**xA+yB+X → mC+nD+X**

In other words, your chakra does not react with your reactants and products.'

'Fia, I already know that! You didn't have to put it up fancily for everybody like that-'

'I'm not finished yet, MJ! In chemistry, sometimes you need to help systems react with certain matters within them. So, what do we do? There are several options. Either we wait and see if eventually **X** would react with anything in the system, but you know how things are with some reactions. They might take from a period shorter than a millionth of a second to longer than the age of the Universe itself!So, since we're not patient enough for that, we do something else.'

'We add warmth. We heat the reaction.' MJ added, understanding where Fia was trying to go.

'Uh, I doubt you would like to be set on fire, MJ, but you know me- I'm always up for them kinky stuff.' the blond grinned cheekily, with the trade mark foxy grin.

MJ and L-chan snorted unwomanly.

'I was going to go with a catalyst.'

'And?'

'And, here is what I came up with. The human body is a peculiar thing. Our metabolisms are extremely complex, like that map of our metabolism that I have in my room, the one that looks like a super-detailed Google map example of a metropolis. In our bodies, our only possible fuel and energy is ATP. Which we have in short supply and we use up constantly. I was thinking of ways to make one's body use the chakra as well. It took me a while since I had to make notes of anything I came up with and to eliminate some of the more improbable suggestions I made on the second round of my research. I wish I had my Bible. Anyways. You know how the saying goes about how you can't fill a cup that's already full?'

'Yes.'

'Well, think about that cup as your ATP reserves. They're our natural fuel. Here, however, we have both ATP and Chakra, which is a mix of spiritual and physical energy. I really need to borrow a book on WHAT EXACTLY makes up chakra, you know? Since this has some 30 percent of possibly inaccurate assumptions ,which, as you well know, is too high a percentage for me, and I may end up suggesting an utter blasphemy concerning the Paradigm of the Biochemistry of Chakra.'

MJ and L-chan looked at each other again knowingly. Fia loved to make new scientific terms.

'Did you made that up, Fia?' L-chan asked.

'Why, yes I did, L-chan. And if they don't have a coursebook on it, I'm making one!'

They all laughed at the blonde's enthusiasm. It was funny because it was true. She actually wanted to make coursebooks or at least some sort of basic stuff books that would help others to avoid her own research trouble. She loved that kind of thing. Along with making up new big words.

'Since all of us use ATP by default for everything we do, we all know how we end up feeling fatigued when we push ourselves. That's usually because we use up all of our disposable ATP reserves and produce milk acid. The way I get it, Chakra, or **X**, helps us get cleared of milk acid faster and allows us to build up our ATP reserves again. Another thing is that you know how food helps us replenish Chakra? I think there is another biochemical cycle going on in our bodies, which produces the chakra and then puts it into circulation in our Chakra Circulatory System, or the CCS for short. There might be more than one, but I am 100 percent sure that there are such biochemical cycles going on. Probably even separate such cycles for the proteins, fats and sugars in the body.

Back to the more important topic. Chakra does amazing things. It is literally helping us do the impossible. This means it has some sort of connection with our nervous system, both sympathetic and parasympathetic parts of it. This is where things get really...assumptional. And I am not going into details on my theories concerning Biophysics of the way chakra affects cells and molecules in our body. But I will say this. Chakra probably is connected to our nervous system by following the same paths as the nerve web across the body. That explains why it affects our bodies so much if a particular tenketsu point is shut off or hurt in some way. Then again I have no idea what sort of matter is Chakra. I mean, come on! A mix of spiritual and physical energy that has the affinity to affect certain elements? That's stupid!'

Fia furrowed her blond brows and huffed indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

'My Sensei once said that the boundaries are within our minds.' MJ supplied to the now heated up on science blonde.

'I will get to that part when I get to it.' Fia stated and settled back in her normal position on her chair, uncrossing her arms.

'Why am I not surprised.' Rose mumbled and smirked into her glass as she took a sip of the ice tea Fia had prepared for them.

'You know our science is not advanced enough to actually know everything about anything so I'm doing a lot of guess work. Cut me some slack will you? Thanks. The thing is, you can make chakra do whatever you want it to do if you have enough control and the needed capacity. And this is another thing that really frustrates me. Does chakra not degenerate when we don't use it for long periods of time? Anyways, I believe that we don't have actual specialized cells or organs that are chakra specific. I think that there are certain charged cells in our body, especially in close proximity to our nervous system. That's the closest thing to the explanation for chakra in this universe. Why didn't Kishimoto-sama go with the normal trivia for chakra. That would've made a lot more easier.

…

On second thought, it wouldn't have. And when I say charged, I mean either positively or negatively charged. The Tenketsu points might be formed by some sort of Chakra knots or something-'

'Fia, you're speculating again!'

'Right. Well, back to my point. Whatever Chakra is (and I will find out! It might be cold plasma or something, whoever knows) does not matter in your case. You can't use chakra, because you've already filled up the capacity your body can handle in terms of pushing itself and when you came here and received chakra, your body and your brain had no idea what to do with it, so they kept it idle.

For a long time I though that you might be like Bushy-brows but when I saw you do that Kawarimi, I figured out something. You're not defective. You need a catalyst! During that training sessions you were pushed near your limits and were super frustrated and somewhat angry, though you kept most of your calm. Then Fujika-sensei threw the Kunai which you dodged by using Kawarimi. I had a eureka moment some hours earlier. You have to teach your body to use chakra. In order to do that, you need to push your limits to a point where you are on the brink of exhaustion and your body thinks your life is in danger. That's why, I've devised this solution...'

'No.'

'But-'

'Will that ...solution... cause me some sort of hemorrhage, heart attack, incapacitation or any sort of injury that would leave me scarred or malfunctioning for the rest of my life?'

'Well, there is a 12 percent chance that-'

'No.'

'But-!'

'I'll go get the match sticks. I prefer being set on fire any day than be a guinea pig for your concoctions. No offense.'

'But-'

MJ stood up with her plate and left the apartment rather abruptly. Fia sighed and brushed away several stray locks of hair behind her ears. There was silence for a few moments and then Rose spoke.

'You know she understands you are trying to help but she does have a point Fia. You lack the work ethics of normal scientists and while your inventions and solutions might do a trick, the malfunction rate is too high for human processing.'

'I was just trying to help.'

'I know.'

Rose smiled and picked up her empty plate to put it in the sink. After that she patted the thoughtful blonde and went to her own apartment. As soon as the front door was shut Fia stood up from her chair and started pacing about the room, with hands on her hips.

Of course, MJ and Rose were completely right to reject her idea. But for the blonde it was the only plausible explanation. She needed to find some specialized books on the subject. The girl had the funny feeling that while these ninja folk were extremely sophisticated jutsu-wise, they had no idea what they were actually working with. Were they good with chemistry at all? She felt bitter because this was important and it was not the first, nor it will be the last time her ideas and theories would be rejected. They were her friends and they understood her, but it was in moments like these that she wished she had that support. She wished she had a boyfriend sometimes. A hot young sex bomb like her and still not even kissed yet.

She knew all too well that she would have two acceptable choices for tonight. Wallow in self-pity or put her feeling to the side and work her ass off to improve her theory or find some other way to help MJ. As the British girl had said, the only limitations are inside your mind.

There was also a third option that was actually for the morning, which included a bit of personal vendetta for rejecting her suggestions which was something perfectly normal and acceptable, and MJ and Rose would probably expect some shenanigans. That would include some sort of cheesy old school prank which would make them laugh at its ingenious stupidity and it would surely defuse the entire situation.

Sometimes, Fia wished she wasn't as smart as she was. But then again one had to always accept themselves. And her friends accepted her. It was only that thing with not agreeing with some things that were reasonable in Fia's book. One thing was sure. She would figure out what kind of prank to play on them in the morning or whenever it comes to her. Until then, she had a theory to improve.

**LINELINELINE**

Every morning, the blonde, Fiona, was first to be up at about 5am at which point she prepared herself for the day and then tinkered with some or other gadget or household item until her teammates woke up and came to her apartment, expecting to find edible food. That would be 8:30 for Rose and 9 for MJ. Then they would hang out and talk idly while MJ would wash the dishes and generally clean around Fia's apartment with a very disapproving look on her face. The blonde would make more litter everywhere absent-mindedly and MJ would clean it up until she would have enough and then she would start whacking the blonde behind the head with whatever she is holding. Rose would ignore their antics while reading some book.

Then the three would go out for a walk around the village. It was a surprise to see them visit Pein-sama with a basket full of fresh fruit and some home-cooked meals from the blonde. What was even more surprising was when the same blonde would start chastising THE Leader of Akatsuki about his low health and how he looked like a dead man walking. When Pein didn't react to her antics, that rang alarm bells. He was trying to extract even more information himself by befriending them, that much was certain.

Then the girls would go their separate ways with Rose doing a couple circles about to be on the safe side and then going back to Pein-sama's HQ. MJ would go to the park closest to her apartment and would do her Katas which were impressive even for an elite ninja. Not to mention how she didn't even use Chakra to perform them.

The blonde would go to Sasori's workshop, which was another interesting surprise and she would be extremely polite and respectful to the Puppet Master and usually never asked questions aside from when he would want whatever she was doing complete and where to put it and the like.

Their daily routines were not really that interesting beside that. But last night had been ...something different. They spoke in their foreign language again but he caught more then enough times the word chakra and also a name. Some guy named Kishimoto-sama. He would have to do further research before he made his final report.

The blonde was obviously explaining something, and by her pose, tone and attitude, it had been important. Then MJ and Rose disagreed with her and left her alone in her apartment. Maybe she had suggested something to help the pale black-haired girl with her chakra problem? It was quite possible as when both MJ and Rose left, Fiona's carefree and comically disappointed pout turned into a scorned bitter look of rejection. For the entirety of about a week that was the first time he had seen her in such a down cast way. She was always cheerful and energetic. It was quite possible that she didn't want her friends to know how rejected she felt. Maybe she was afraid of conflict.

Then the girl had resigned herself to her research work or whatever she was scribbling in some notebook and then editing. It look suspiciously like research to him though. She hadn't a wink of sleep that night.

At around 4 am, an hour before any of the three girls woke up, a messenger nin appeared and left ninja notices on their door steps. Those were probably the notices about him being their Sensei and where they should meet. He had his given to him directly by Pein yesterday.

When Fiona was finally up, she went about her usual routine and then she sneaked out room in a very suspicious manner. He had no idea what she was planning but when she saw the notices on their door steps her face split into the most sinister and mischievous grin he had seen in a long time.

What happened next was that she gathered the notices with surprising stealth and she went back into her apartment. There she dipped them into some bucket of paint and set them on fire. She hadn't even opened to see what the envelops said! What the hell was she thinking? What the hell was Pein thinking when he was so obviously being lenient with them? They should be as important as they made themselves look, because if there was one thing he utterly despised, it was the lack of discipline.

Itachi was not amused.

Their meeting was at noon at one of the training grounds. Since he felt rather frustrated with the blonde, the Uchiha left his surveillance spot and went back to his own place to prepare for the up coming first training session. While he couldn't harm them in any way, there were still plenty of options left to punish them for their behavior.

**LINELINELINE**

The 5 o'clock alarm went off and Fia had to get up from her spot in the living room to go to the bedroom and turn it off. So far there was little to no success with actually improving any of her possible theories on chakra that would help MJ in anyway. But she did invent a new energy drink that she hoped was capable of activating one's chakra. She did not want to discuss the ingredients. Concerning her most formidable chakra theory, the one she shared with MJ and Rose, she doubted that MJ would reconsider her offer of help. Especially when this new energy booster was involved.

Now, Fia's energy drink concoctions was one of the taboo topics both for her and her friends for several reasons. The first one was that some of them were considered illegal because of their sheer danger rate. But more often that not, they were taboo because she drank some on a nearly daily basis.

Fiona Johnson did not drink coffee. She drank protein energy drinks that helped her battle with the fatigue of not sleeping for some amount of time or helped her improve her focus and concentration when she needed it. The concoctions alone were dangerous, but she started making them when she felt that she was not doing enough fast enough. After many years of abuse, her metabolism had become extremely fast, causing her body to demand food in even greater quality than before. That coupled with her enthusiastic way of life was enough to burn most of the energy from whatever she put in her mouth.

Fia's concoctions were a taboo for her specifically for another reason as well. It involved a certain crocodile incident during her trip to Australia.

Long story short- it was a heavy raid week and the battle was on for the first Lich King kill on the server. Stakes were high and her community leader was your typical 38 year old fanatic raid junkie male. Since she was busy during the day with touring Australia, that left her with almost no time for sleep in order to meet the demands of her community leader. That was how she made a special energy drink that had effects similar to amphetamines. Now she knew what to avoid...when the risk was even too high for her.

But there was one universal rule that applied for all things and Fiona often quoted it all too well. If you can use it, you can abuse it.

The results were obvious.

To this day no one knew why that incident had happened. It was partly because she felt ashamed, partly because she was too proud and stubborn to admit her mistake, and mostly because she feared the rejection she would see in her friends' eyes. And she feared being alone. It hurt. Even now, she would die for her friends, and they for her. But she could not trust them on 100 percent. No matter how much she wanted to. She cursed her smarts.

Fia shook her head free of dark thoughts and tried to think about what kind of revenge she would execute on her friends. Maybe she would steal their door mats? Remove the bolts of their locks? Hmm, yes, that one sounded just about right.

Fia went silently outside her apartment, and with a bit of a surprise saw some ninja notices. Those were probably some new Sensei announcement. A sinister and mischievous grin appeared on her face. Oh, she knew the revenge she would enact. This was going to be perfect and she bet they would wonder for a while what had happened. Oh sweet evil brain of hers. Tee hee!

She gathered the noticed and dipped them in some paint and set them on fire, yet again dumping them... with great precision... out the window.

Ahem.

And now, it was time for her to go and find Danna. He probably had some books she could borrow. Akasuna no Sasori probably had some soft spot for her and her blondness, she bet. He seemed so awesomely helpful! And he let her help him! What if he wanted her for an apprentice? She squealed with joy at the prospect. Tinkering with human puppets was awesome! And she was always up for some dissecting if it would come up. She hoped it would.

'Good morning, Sasori-Danna!'she greeted him cheerfully once she got to his workshop.'Do you have anything I can help you with? I want to start working as soon as possible. I hope that that would be enough to appease you for the few questions I have that will take some of your precious time.'

Fia always had a way of words.

'Ohayo to you too, brat.' Hiruko the puppet appeared from behind the shadows of a darker part of the workshop, almost startling the girl with how stealthily it moved. 'Ask your questions quick, I have things to do and things for you to do today.'

She bowed respectfully to him and then flashed him a cheeky foxy smile before starting to speak.

'I was wondering, Danna, if there are any books on the chemistry and biochemistry of Chakra.'

Sasori was silent for a few moments, the metal scorpion tail swishing idly behind Hiruko.

'If there were such books, there wouldn't be a ninja that would sell their mother or kill their father for even a page of one.'

Sasorí's answer left Fia dumbfounded for a moment. OK, she had expected some lack of material on the subject but...

'That's harsh, Sasori-Danna. Then how am I supposed to figure out how chakra works in the body?' she pouted.

There was a reason Sasori wanted his hands on the girl. And in moments like these, he was glad he had made the decision to let her in his workshop. The girl sprouted gold on a regular basis!

'Danna, this may sound a bit weird, but are there any books on chemistry and biochemistry for ninja?'

Explosives, inks, medical jutsu, poisons, metal composition and so on were all things that involved chemistry and biochemistry in the ninja world. There was even some biochemistry research. But biochemistry of chakra? Maybe in her world they had more knowledge on these subjects. He had after all skimmed files with titles concerning the atomic structure of the chemical elements, and other things that even he had no idea about. Chemistry here worked on a more basic principle than in their world, from what he could understand.

But the implications of her first question... Chemistry and Biochemistry of Chakra. If one could explain how chakra worked on a completely scientific level... that would be not just an entirely new branch of science. It would practically turn their world upside down. It would be a Renaissance of sorts for them. If he could, he would've shivered from excitement.

'There are, but they won't do you any good. You are trying to find a way to help Jessica-san, is that correct?'

'Hai, Danna.'

'If you proved to be skilled enough to work in my laboratory, I might let you in there... with supervision of course. You can do your research there. However, I still need all your daily quota complete.'

'How am I to do my quota and research at the same time? I can't compromise with your art, Danna, it's delicate work! But research requires time as well...Ugh...I can't be in two places at the same time.' her shoulders sagged dramatically.

'There is a jutsu that can let you be.'

'What?' Fia looked up with impressively believable interest and sincerity.

'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It's a forbidden Konoha Technique. One of my puppets was a rather pricy and hard catch which I turned into perfect art. But it was his Kage Bunshins, the corporeal clone technique, that was the reason for the battle to take longer than usual.'

A puppet glided down from the shadows of his workshop . It was a male man of around 40 age by his appearance. He was dressed in the typical for Sasori's puppets garments but it was the small name plate on his right wrist that caught her attention and she couldn't help but widen her eyes.

_Uzumaki Kuro_

The man had been part of the Uzumaki clan. He didn't look like Kushina though, but that didn't matter. If Sasori called him pricy, that meant he specialized in the Kage Bunshin. He was probably a Whirlpool ninja, since only Kushina had been a leaf ninja from the Uzumaki clan. That made her wonder about the actual roots of the Kage Bunshin technique.

Of course, Uzumaki Kuro did not have the Kage bunshin technique, but from what he remembered from the final battle he had with the man some 10 years ago, he was definitely capable of producing several dozens of corporeal clones the least. Plus, Sasori found her reaction interesting to watch.

'Can I learn it, Danna? Can I? Please?' she put up her hands in front of her chest in a begging manner, forcing her breasts together and overall creating a rather pleasing effect for any male's eyes. She was really good. But he was an even better puppet.

'The technique is extremely dangerous and hard to learn. Furthermore the chakra required for it is enormous. But it IS perfect for you. The Kage bunshin gives feedback when dispersed.'

'You mean like... I remember what they remember? I was thinking along the lines of sending the Kage Bunshin do my work while I do my research in you lab ( you know I'll qualify, Danna. Don't look at me like that!) That totally changes everything. A single Kage Bunshin can practically double my study and research rate. That's amazing!'

'Don't count your kunai before you've checked them, brat. Now the seal for the jutsu is only one, the tiger seal...'

Sasori spent only 15 minutes of her time explaining things he knew she already knew, but he had no choice, even if it was an utter waste of time. The girl tried to do the technique several times but nothing happened in any of her tries. She gave up and apologized for the time she lost him and quickly went to maintain some joints that needed looking up.

It was a good thing that she knew his character so well, he mused. Of all the people in Ame that knew her, he was probably the least annoyed. Simply because she knew not to annoy him. If he was the type, he would smile smuggly.

**LINELINELINE**

Uchiha Itachi waited for his 'students' for exactly 15 minutes before heading out to collect them and punish them for their tardiness... among other things. He would start with the blonde menace who he would make follow him silently while he gathered the other two. She'd probably start squirming guiltily soon enough. He should know better, but meh.

He easily found her tinkering with some human puppet arm in Sasori's workshop while the Puppet Master himself was not visible immediately. When he had entered the man's workshop, at first she paid him no heed, too busy with her nimble fingers to maintain the joint. She worked with rarely seen skill, apart from the Puppet Master himself and several other individuals that he had come across as a ninja.

Finally, he spoke to gain her attention.

'Is Akasuna no Sasori here?'

'Danna is in the back in his lab.' she stated absent-mindedly, still heavily engrossed in her work.

'Arigatou.'

She never even turned to look at him. It seemed she did have some redeeming qualities. Like being a diligent worker when she wanted to be. But that had nothing to do with discipline, unfortunately for her.

'Just don't take too long, he hates waiting.'

'I will have it in mind.'

Some five minutes later he came back, with Sasori's permission to take her for her training. She had yet to look at him. How did she even imagine to be a ninja when she didn't even pay attention to her surroundings? Pathetic and weak. He walked over to her silently, aiming to place a hand on her shoulder in order to startle her.

'Gimme a sec, I'm almost done.'

Impressive. Had she sensed his chakra? He wondered how she had detected him. In all honesty, she was utterly paranoid, and she also spent way too much with MJ and not to mention sneaking about in mostly illegal fashion.

'I left some food in the fridge, MJ- oh.' she had turned around while she spoke.

Blink.

Blink.

Deadpan stare.

'Hi.'

Hi? Was that all she was going to say to him, Uchiha Itachi? Then again they just stood there, staring at each other, which went on for a few more moments.

'You're in the bingo book.'

'Hn.'

'So...'

There were a few more moments of silence.

She looked around and tapped her fingers on her knees.

This was getting ridiculous. Why wasn't she getting uncomfortable? And his Sharingan was active as well, though he was not planning on using any jutsu. Yet.

'So...'

She repeated while looking directly in his eyes, staring back, though with no malicious intent. Again, they were staring at each other in utter silence.

And there was more silence.

'Did you really kill your clan, like, all by yourself?' She suddenly asked out of the blue, in a tone that suggested innocent curiosity.

Well, who would've guessed. She really read the Bingo Book. Now the question was, where had she gotten it. He suspected she had nicked it, seeing just how nimble those fingers of hers were.

'So...'

…

'Do you use genjutsu to make your eyes spin like that, or is it just how the Sharingan works, cus that's really neat look at, you know. You have pretty eyes by the way.'

She kept staring, unabashedly.

How did she manage to annoy people so easily? How did she manage to stay alive, with Akasuna no Sasori no less, when he was practically the most impatient man in the whole of Ame. He knew that personally. He had been on missions with him. And yes, he did tell him 'You lack patience.'

Some minute later she apparently got bored and stopped staring at him, at which point she dared to ignore his presence completely by having the audacity to pull out some sort of sweet from one of the many pockets of her obnoxiously orange jacket. And she ate it. Still ignoring him.

Itachi barely, microscopically squinted his eyes at her.

Deadpan glare.

'Are you OK, Uchiha-san? You seem annoyed.-nibble-'

She was good. No, not good. She was a professional at this game. No wonder Sasori had taken her under his wing, so to speak. She was a natural at pushing buttons on purpose. A gold mine spy.

'Why are you still here?'

Both turned to see Sasori who had crept in probably to get something in his workshop himself.

The little blonde menace shrugged her arms non-chalantly and looked at Itachi with the same content expression, as if saying 'his fault'.

'Did you give her a Bingo Book, Sasori-san?'

'No, she probably nicked it somewhere.'

Both men turned to look at her as she shrugged her arms yet again, head slightly tilted to the side and with a big apologetic smile on her face, showing off her pearly white teeth. It was a classical 'how can you be mad at me' expression.

Itachi let out a barely audible deadpan sigh and turned to leave.

'Come'

She followed but not before she pecked the Puppet Master's cheek (the Hiruko doll really) goodbye.

She was playing the cute card now, eh? She knew she was in big trouble. But why was she keeping this up, STILL?

He decided to take a bit of a stroll, and she was following him diligently, while humming happily, like a puppy in toll. Itachi was fully aware that that probably looked absolutely ridiculous on the outside so after 15 more minutes of wandering he decided to go and get her Raven-haired friend, Jessica. She was probably still doing Katas in the park.

'Go fetch Jessica-san and wait for me here.'

With that Itachi disappeared in a swoosh of leaves. He stayed a bit longer, but hidden, to see if there was any change in her reaction.

She skipped along the street, still humming happily.

It was going to be a long day.

He went to fetch L-chan from Leader-sama's office. Why did they call her L-chan again?

**LINELINELINE**

Fia had multiple colossal screw ups in her short life of 17-18 years. But when she had managed to somehow royally piss the Uchiha Clan Slayer, well, lets say this was her fifth cataclysmic screw up. The other four cataclysmic screw ups were not to be mentioned... not now to be exact. And why was she so calm again?

Ahem.

Fia lacked common sense. She knew perfectly well that she had hell to pay, because she was 100 percent sure that Uchiha Friggin Itachi was their Sensei now. And if Itachi didn't kill her, MJ probably would. So she decided not to screw up this any further and just play the bimbo card as best as she could and see what happens.

Plus, it was so going to be worth it. MJ would totally have a panic attack or something of the major scale, when she found out. It was so totally worth it. She only regretted not seeing L-chan's expression. Itachi probably went to get her, seeing as he purposefully left her to get MJ. He had spied on them. That was a fact in her book.

And so, she skipped happily, humming a very cheerful version of 'Morituri te salutant'. If she was to meet her doom, she was going to do it with her chin up, like a man. Or woman. Whatever.

_**A/N: You better review this because I put a lot of effort to write this and the theory thing and make it as awesome as possible! And I have three tests this week with one still left to go, please respect my sacrificed time :O**_


	43. Breaking Point pt 1

_**A/N: sorry for the delay guys, tough times at university and I also work on several side projects, like helping Grocamol with his MoR daughter fic, called Moons of Bloody Crimson, which includes some of my own characters along with some of his. **_

_**Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude towards the reviewers whom I am unable to reply with a private message.**_

_**Kon-chan**: There you go! Here's some more!_

_**CheeseballBiscuit**: Thanks for your review. I try hard to keep up the good work. It's you guys that makes it worth it!_

_**DBZLOVER**: your waiting is finally over, sorry for this taking so much time, Microbiology is a demanding science. And I study medicine, Microbiology is only part of my daily headaches!_

_**jack**: I'm still developing the chemistry-chakra theory even further. I'm studying nervous system and I might dig up something good enough to manipulate into something usable for MoR_

_**marc**: As I said to jack, I'm working on it._

_**Algebraiya**: thanks for reviewing. How did you come up with your nickname by the way? O,o_

_**Freehawk**: Your reviews are also deeply appreciated._

_**I hope you all enjoy this chapter as I tried taking several different approaches with this one and I must say the final result satisfies me while also helping me solve some and other plot bunnies here and there. Enjoy :)**_

*****888*****

**Chapter 43**

**Breaking Point Part 1**

It was almost like back at home, really. The oohs and the aahs. The cheers and admiration. The _fanboys_. A bit too much like home, actually. Then again, MJ was not an ordinary girl. She was THE Urban Ninja of AFC. She could do a running back flip which made her very own audience gasp in awe.

'You're so amazing, Jessica-sama!'

'Please do that again, Senpai!'

'How do you do that, Jessie-chan?'

'You CANT do that without chakra!' gasped another ninja.

It was a nice and somewhat peaceful day for training. MJ performed her katas perfectly, her mind drifting with relaxation, completely focused on what her body was doing. She moved fluidly and gracefully like a ninja, and yet her moves held strength and discipline that was more typical for a samurai in some cases. All in all, none of her Katas used chakra. It was one of the things that amazed all of the ninja around her. Her chakra never flared even once.

She jumped. She landed. She sprung up into a double kick and adjusted her frame so that she did a back flip and landed again. Perfect mind. Perfect Body. Balance. Tranquillity. Peace. Orange.

Wait.

What?

'Hey, MJ.'

'Oh, hey Fia, weren't you supposed to be at the workshop?' MJ looked at Fia. Something was fishy. She could practically smell it. Jessica refrained herself from narrowing her eyes. She would probably find out soon enough.

'Well, we have a new Sensei and he came over to tell us to gather up. He sent me to get you. The meeting point is a few streets away.' Fia didn't even break a sweat. She was speaking like her perfectly normal self, a small gentle smile on her face.

Silence.

'New...Sensei?'

To those around them, MJ's voice was perfectly normal and even slightly content as well, save for the tinge of polite and completely expected confusion.

'Yeah.'

Silence.

'You burned the missives again, didn't you?'

Dreadful silence.

'There might have been something like that. Yes.'

There was a rise in pitch in Fia's voice, indicating nervousness and guilt.

Finally, MJ's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. It was only for a millisecond, but they all saw it. And then she smiled sweetly. A Sai sort of smile. A cold shiver ran down Fia's spine.

'Oh, Fia-chan. That is so very childish and immature of you! And at your age!' A sweet condescending tinge ringed in everyone's ears. The usually quiet and calm girl had an eerie air about her that Fia could easily discern as peeved.

'Ne, MJ, we needn't tard any longer. Our Sensei might be waiting for us.' Cue disarming bright smile. MJ resisted.

And that, my dear readers was the beginning of what most Jounin and the ANBU present would refer to as a ninja mind game.

'But of course, Fia-chan. 'MJ smiled back. 'Can you tell me who our new Sensei is?'

'Oh, you haven't seen him around. He seems serious and OK though, then again our last Sensei did, too.'

'Wasn't he angry?'

'Of course he was. It's not like I didn't expect him not to be. That was the point.'

'Fine, lead the way.'

Crisis averted through careful wording. For now. Fia smiled brightly again and started walking, while MJ was in stride with her. They also had a small entourage of fanboys, the more persistent kind, ogling at the elegant raven-haired beauty. Their ninja senses were telling them that something was bound to happen in the next hour or so. There was a tension in the air that was all but ignored by the two young women walking side by side.

'So, how's Danna doing?'

'He's in good health and working condition. He tried to teach me a jutsu today. The Kage Bunshin.'

'And?'

'Nothing. I have to work on it though. Danna said the Shadow clones are solid! Imagine how much work I can do with 10 of me!'

'Then you'd be ten times worse than you are now.'

'' Ne, MJ! You are so mean!' Fia pouted childishly, as they slowly walked towards the assigned meeting point. The fact that the tension seemed to be building up, instead of dissipating, kind of warned MJ's gut feeling that Fia was still guilty about something.

'You know, Fia, I still think you did something but you don't want to tell me. Is it that bad?'

'Maybe.'

'So you DID do something. I was wondering why you still look as guilty as hell.'

'Always the sunshine.'

'Will I know what you did by effect of said action in the time span of the next few days?'

'Hn...you needn't worry about long term effects.'

'Somehow that wasn't reassuring. Not one bit.'

'Well, you know me. It wasn't on purpose.'

'It was but it went out of your control.'

'Ah-ah, MJ! You're guessing again and I'm not telling.'

The two of them could play the sweet poison smile game all day long.

'On a scale from 1 to 10, how big?'

'Eleven with contemporary relevance, thus reducing to an average of 6 and a half.'

'Which means that I'd most probably want to beat your face in even though there wasn't any lasting collateral damage.'

Fia continued smiling.

'I would bet with up most certainty that you will run given the chance.'

'True, true.'

'Seriously, Fiona. What did you do?'

'I burned the missives.'

'So our new Sensei is going to punish us.'

'He probably will.'

'So you're not in a tight spot because of the punishment.'

'Nope.'

The tone was slowly turning more and more serious.

'Will you stop with the laconic answers, already?'

'Not in the near 2-3 hours or so.'

'Hn.'

Fia finally stopped at some point. MJ stopped as well and took her time looking around. She still had some of the more persistent admirers following close by. This was an utter social disaster waiting to happen. She made sure to keep any temper that might arise in check. There wasn't a thing more annoying than bystander gossip. Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed their immediate surroundings. They were at the edge of the park. Some 15 minutes or so went by and still nothing.

'Are you sure this is the right place, Fia?'

'Absolutely.'

MJ's eyes narrowed even further. There were two possible explanations. A.) she was pulling her leg big time. Or B.) she's actually at the right place, too intimidated to pull off another obnoxious stunt.

Who the hell was their new Sensei?

'Fia, for the last time. Who is our Sensei?'

'I am.' a cool male voice said behind her.

_**Sorry for the small chapter! I am practically falling asleep and I wanna go to sleep and cuddle my cure puffy and fluffy Persian Blue Kitty. Anyways, will update with the rest of it tomorrow with **Breaking Point Part 2**.**_


	44. Breaking Point pt 2

_**A/N: Well, seems like I got 2 reviews for the shortie I put up last night. But it was 2 am and I was about to pass out from lack of sleep, so here is the second part. I've been asked on multiple occasions to send someone some of the things that didn't make the cut. Well, I am happy to tell you that you will see such moments in the form of flashbacks. These are some of the most prized shorties I've written, concerning the past of the characters. Other shorties are less than happy, like Tifa's life story. That's just downright depressing enough to kill yourself. But you really get the idea where that toughness came from.**_

_**One more thing. Should Malena and Marco be Spanish or Italian? Please answer in your reviews. They were the Konan and Cloud cosplayers with the two kids, Vincent and Tifa, who all ended up in Oto.**_

_**Marc: **They know the whole truth. They know pretty much everything about Naruto. Furthermore, the way I'm writing MoR, I think I should say that since its 2012 when they end up in the Narutoverse, the Manga was pretty much complete by that time. Which means they also know how Naruto ends. That isn't that relative, since they will change a lot of things just by being there._

_**Grocamol: **Gro-chan, don't insult animals like that. Fia is definitely not a rascal, she's times worse. And she can't help herself. Itachi won't go insane, but the way the Itachi- Fia relationship is going...well, imagine Sasuke and Naruto's relationship. To put it bluntly, Fia annoys the hell out of the stoic Uchiha by _divine will.

Chapter 44

Breaking Point Part 2

Uchiha Itachi. Pale skin, vivid Sharingan eyes, calm expression and almost lifeless looking. A perfect killing machine. Time seemed to slow down into an antagonizing stop. This was Uchiha Itachi. He looked so much like her, it felt as if she was looking at a screwed up version of herself. One that made her heart pound in her chest and stop and the same time. Her soul was set aflutter at the though of what kind of horrors he must have been through to end up looking so lifeless and emotionless.

The uncanny resemblance... it was a memento of their own personal tragedies and resolutions. She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. Being a gentle soul with a hard shell outside made her ever so vulnerable to what she was experiencing at that precise moment. And she was experiencing the impact of his glorified gravitation and perfect image. She just couldn't handle it all at once. Not like this. Not now. That and she forgot to breathe.

She fainted.

Of course, to those around her, she had turned abruptly and simply dropped on the ground unconscious. All in the span of few seconds. The dead silence was only broken by the background sounds of the urban setting around the park. Most of the ninja that had been hogging MJ pulled away from them, forming a sort of free space in which tension grew sporadically highward. Fia was playing the dumb bimbo card and just blinked.

'Pathetic.' Itachi's voice was soft and barely above whisper, but they all heard it.

He walked away.

Fia knelt carefully next to MJ whose hazy half-lidded gaze was starting to glisten. The raven haired girl's fainting spell was a mere product of shock and she had lost consciousness for several seconds. Knowing that there was going to be hell to pay, as MJ had heard the comment, Fiona's brows creased into a deep scowl and she stood up swiftly, almost managing to dislocate MJ's left shoulder as she pulled her up with her.

'Hey! Don't call MJ pathetic! She's times more awesome then you would ever be! You're just jealous she has such awesome friends like myself!' She put her hands on her hips.

Itachi stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to look at Fiona's azure eyes, Sharingan flaring dangerously. The audience took a sensible few steps back, as killer intent slowly began to seep. Rose chose just that moment to come to the clearing, confusion and worry written all over her face. She had no idea what was going on, but by the amount of killer intent about in the air, she easily guessed that Fiona had miraculously had managed to aggravate the stoic Uchiha even further. It wasn't as if Leader-sama hadn't chastised her for her friend's actions up until 5 minutes ago. It was a great dishonour for something like this to happen and she was pretty much sure that soon enough she had to take things into her own hands again, playing her superiority card by age and official rank.

While the god realm had told her that Fiona was a very promising ninja- hopeful, he had also told her she had little to no regard for authority. Leader was right, of course. But Rose had made sure he also knew that she had her own way of expressing her respect for those of authority in her eyes. And that he was one of the few people she respected deeply. However, that wasn't as important as the fact that Itachi was probably this close to using Tsukiyomi on her blonde comrade. And MJ seemed somewhat emotionally distraught.

Yes, it was definitely time to pull the superiority card.

Rose took off her glasses and approached.

'What is going on here?' she asked with a voice that demanded immediate respect. The people in the audience immediately drew even further back and started bowing to her, whispers of 'God' and 'Leader' in the air about them. 'Uchiha-san, weren't you supposed to train the girls? Fiona, know your place.'

She then glanced at her raven-haired female but remained silent. The killer intent in the air immediately dropped. Itachi was now directly staring at her, his Sharingan eyes betraying no emotion save for the microscopic amount of curiosity. For him, Rose just managed to diffuse a somewhat dangerous situation. Apparently this woman was extremely adept at imitating Leader's antics, down to the air of complete dominance about him. That was definitely not in her profile. But as it turned out, Fiona's scowl immediately disappeared and she took several steps back, so she would be right beside MJ. She seemed absolutely quiet. She did, however, steal weary glances at MJ, as if expecting her to explode any moment now.

In all honesty, he called the entire situation pathetic, but the blonde menace was actively seeking confrontation, DESPITE knowing who he was exactly. Just as he was about to give her a piece of his mind via a harmless but frightening version of Tsukiyomi, the red headed Rinnegan bearing woman appeared and took control of the situation. She was good. He would probably have an easier time training them with her on his side.

'I was supposed to do evaluation today.' Itachi finally spoke, his attention appearing to be completely undivided and solely concentrated on L-chan. It was an unnerving feeling as he continued to stare at her, in an completely emotionless manner. But Itachi had to give her credit for keeping up her composure. 'You did not meet my meagre expectations.' He turned to Fiona and MJ. 'You ' he nodded at Fiona.'You lack proper concentration on your tasks and tend to disregard any kind of authority.' Itachi then turned to MJ.'Your Taijutsu is up to par but your other ninja skills are greatly lacking.'We will work on chakra control tomorrow, both of you.'

With that he turned and shunshined away.

For several minutes all of them just stood there. L-chan was the first to recover. She looked at where MJ and Fia were standing. This was definitely not good.

And then, MJ just started laughing like a maniac. Fia inched slowly away, alert in ways that told L-chan enough. MJ had just reached her breaking point.

She stopped laughing and turned towards Fia with a predatory expression of hysteria, rage and psychosis.

'Run away, little girl. Run away.' came her sinfully lustful predatory voice.

'Shit!' was all Fia could muster before she performed a standard Kawarimi with a random person in the ground.

'Jessica-sama!'

Chaos broke loose and ninja tried to restrain the berserk girl from killing her team mate for no apparent reason. Then again they had no idea that Itachi was her idol. L-chan sighed dejectedly. It wasn't worth the trouble to try and resolve the problem for her two comrades. Mainly because MJ was currently breaking noses and limbs at high speed while trying to get away from the grip of the ninja. And because there was no point in dealing with Fia. With a mutter of 'Make sure they don't kill themselves.' to the nearest ninja ( who bowed super respectfully), the busty red head left.

***888***

Shit. Shit. SHIT! Was all that went through Fiona's mind as she was running for her life. And MJ was still gaining on her, despite all those fans of hers trying to stop her. The blonde used any trick she could think of to gain a few more seconds worth of time. Including Kawarimi with random objects and stuff.

Despite the entire ordeal, a tiny voice in Fia's subconscious was cheering happily. It wasn't every day that you get to be chased around in order to get killed by your best friend. For the several next seconds that passed, all Fia could think about was whether MJ would get the Mangekyo Sharingan if she managed to kill her, and that was , of course, if she actually had the Sharingan. She also commended L-chan's excellent impersonation of Pein. Then again, L-chan has always been a Pein Cosplayer so it wasn't that much of a surprise. She wondered what Pein himself would say about that. They were all often enough in his office to know his quirks well enough. And it was bloody funny when they all started bowing. Fia snickered at the thought and picked up her pace. She had a sanctuary to find.

Her happy moment lasted only so long, as a Kunai whizzed by her , making her yelp, and indicating that MJ was still well on her trail and closing in. Why did she have to be such an asshole again? Oh yeah, MJ was cute when she blushed. Then again, MJ was not cute when she went on a frenzied killing spree. And she was so cool and calm all the time, it kinda got boring and was just tempting to mess with her. And MJ had said it well. The situation had really gone out of control. The blonde's only consolation was that she would get to tell the best stories to her grandchildren. That was IF she survived MJ's wrath.

Fiona took another sharp turn and Kawarimi'd herself with a nearby trash can. She'd almost forgotten how good MJ was when she was REALLY determined. Most of the time she wouldn't give things the light of day, simply because she was too good to mingle with said things. While MJ was an elegant and gentle, kind girl, there was that sarcastic and cynical exterior that made her look more like a snobby brat than a nice girl. She remembered her when she first met her. She remembered her so well...

_*****Flashback*****_

**-September, 2004, London-**

'Alright, men, women, we're looking for a 9 year old blond girl with blue eyes, slightly tan, a bit on the puffy side. She's wearing orange overalls, blue shirt and an orange, blue and white jacket. She was last seen near Covent Garden.' The policeman briefed his fellow police officers and when he was done they split up in groups of two to search the area.

Of course, they were looking for a 9 year old Fiona Johnson, who had obviously ditched her parents for a more private tour of London, while they were conducting this business lunch she wasn't allowed to attend to.

Alright, she told herself, the coast is clear, no one is looking and I've got my jacket off and my hair in a ponytail. No one will recognise me as long as I act natural. That was at least the basic thoughts that went through her little blond head. Her azure sapphires for eyes were scanning the street carefully, like a hawk, not missing a single detail. The light went green and she crossed the street, next to an old man who would've easily appeared to have been a grandfather taking his granddaughter for a stroll. Naturally, no one would suspect anything.

A mischievous smirk that did not belong to a 9 year old appeared as she reached the other side of the street and now she elegantly made her way away from the old man. She felt very smug at that particular moment. And that policeman was RIGHT behind her, the dolt.

Now, all she had to do was sneak in the British Museum and take a close look at all the specimens there. Fiona was only a turn away from Great Russel Street. Soon enough, with a bit more stealthy moves on her side and tailing behind the backs of several policemen, she was finally in line for the British Museum. Now She needed a good enough distraction in order to enter without being seen. So she did the most logical thing a logical genius of 9 years of age could think- she started discreetly tying shoe laces here and there. There was always a use for nimble fingers whose light touches were almost unnoticeable. To the onlookers, she appeared to be a girl who had trouble tying her own shoe laces. The best way to hide was in plain sight. She would've laughed like a maniac if the situation was not as delicate.

Her parents were going to ground her for at least two weeks for this stunt, so she had to do her best to get caught as late as possible. And first in her plans was the British Museum, where she planned to look at everything and then she was going to move onto a different famous location, most likely Baker Street. And since the British Museum was fairly big, and it was already past noon, she would most probably sleep in the museum itself, in the sleeping bag she had prepared. You can't intentionally try and pull of a private tour of London without a sleeping bag. Especially not when you were a 9 year old cute girl, and there were many, many awful things out there like murderous psychopaths, smugglers and paedophilic rapists. She was still armed with a pepper spray... just in case. Her emergency repair kit was with her as well, if need be. But for all her preparedness she had only 50 or so Euro on her, which would most likely last her a few days, for food alone. It was all she needed. She doubted that on her own she could last longer- not all policemen were dolts. And they were twice her size.

And so, our little heroine had ended up leisurely examining whatever the British Museum could offer. She even found a nice spot where she could hide tonight!

Several hours later the blonde girl found herself passing the Egyptian collection again where she noticed that the girl she saw every time she passed by this part of the museum. And all she did was lifelessly stare at one of the statues. The realisation that this girl was going to turn soon into a statue herself, if she kept that up, made Fia walk over to her. The girl was dressed in what appeared to be an expensive school uniform of a private school for girls. She was still holding her back pack in fact. Given how long she was here, Fia figured that she hadn't gone to school, and yes, it was a school day today. Her hair was long, silky and straight, of raven black colour. Her skin was pale and her eyes were of crystal blue colour. There was no emotion written on the girl's delicate face and she seldom made any sort of movement, save for blinking and breathing.

'Hi, I'm Fia! Who're you?' The blonde smiled brightly at the girl, who turned to look at her after being startled out of her deep thoughts. It took her several minutes before she spoke back to the persistent looking orange...thing.

'Good afternoon.' That was all she said before turning back to staring at the statues.

'You know, you should be at school.' Fia exclaimed after several more minutes of utter silence.

'Why aren't you at school yourself?' the raven head shot back, turning to give the blonde a look of superiority.

'Cus my parents said so, Snobby-chan, so Nya!' Fia poked her tongue at the delicate girl and she pulled away with slight fear and disgust. Fia's eyebrows shot upward in surprise. That was not the reaction she had expected.

Again, awkward silence. But this time the girls were staring at each other. One with suspicion and slight animosity, and the other with unyielding interest and disturbing openness.

'People go to school for a reason you know.'

'Says the hypocrite. I'm on a business trip with me folks.'

'Then why don't you go bother them and let me be?'

'Cus if I go to them now, I'll be grounded for like two weeks. I'm here on a business trip with them and that means by their standards no sight-seeing. Which is so totally uber bleh! So I decided to do my very own trip around London to do some sight-seeing. I'll be spending the night here and then I'm off to the other sights. What about you, Snobby-chan? What brings your royal behind here?'

The snobby school girl actually blinked a few times, trying to process the mouthful of an answer the blonde orange thing blasted at her. Why was she even talking to her again? Couldn't she see she's busy? Busy contemplating the death of her beloved big brother... She felt a pang of sadness and grief in her heart.

The pale girl's features harshened.

'That is none of your business. I do not even know you and therefore I have nothing to share with you. Good day.'

With that she turned to leave, but Fia stopped her.

'Hey! Just because you're snobby doesn't mean I don't wanna be friends! Besides, I already told you my name which was the polite thing to do! Hey! Where are you going?'

Fia jogged up to the now swiftly pacing away British girl. But then several policemen walked into her line of sight and she had to ditch The Pursuit of the Snob in favour of saving her own ass. She hid in the men's room since they wouldn't check there in a million years.

As planned, she spent the night there.

*****888*****

That night Michelle watched the news with her parents. Apparently a 9 year old blonde girl has disappeared and the police was looking for her. When her picture was shown, the pale girl immediately recognised her. Her parents noticed the unhealthy looking interest their daughter showed while watching that particular bit of news. They looked at each other.

'Darling, your principal called. She said you skipped school today. You shouldn't do that, you know.'

'I know, mother. It's just...'

'It's alright, Michelle, we understand. We miss him too.' Michelle's father put his hand on his daughter's and squeezed lightly.'But he is probably watching you and is sad that you are miserable. You should try to move on.'

'I am done with my dinner. May I be excused to my room.'

After a slight pause, her father answered.

'If you want to, sweety.'

'Thank you.'

With that, Michelle stood up from her place at the table and curtsied at her parents. She went to her room, her dinner merely jumbled up, but essentially untouched.

'The psychiatrist said the pills should help her. She isn't improving at all.' Father sighed.'I should've looked up more alternatives...I barely stand seeing her like this.'

'I know, love. But it isn't wise to treat her ourselves. I'm an ophthalmologist and you are a plastic surgeon. Furthermore she is our daughter. It isn't wise to treat her ourselves.'

'I just don't know what to do any more… I don't want to lose her as well.' a single tear fell down his cheek.

'I know, love. I know.' the woman kissed her husband's cheek and relaxed her head on his shoulder.

*****888*****

Michelle closed the door quietly behind her. She knew she had to take her pills, but she was too proud to do that. She felt that if she took them, the last shred of hope would be destroyed. Was she so utterly unstable and psychotic that she just had to take pills? Wasn't the gossip and the stares enough? Couldn't they just let her grieve in piece? She just...needed more time to come into terms with her brother's death.

And that annoying girl! Why did she care about her. She should report her to the cops. Causing so much trouble to her parents! Has she no shame? Doesn't she know that they would be worried about her? And she wasn't even a girl in Michelle's opinion! She was an orange...THING... in overalls! Oh! She would give her a piece of her mind, if she found her in the museum tomorrow! She was such an annoying girl! Calling her Snobby-chan of all things! What the hell was Snobby-chan? And she!... she said she wanted to be friends...

Michelle's anger slowly dissipated and gave way to the curiosity that she felt earlier. She felt bad for a moment. The girl, despite her horrendous manners, had been trying to be friendly. And she had pushed her away.

Michelle had no friends. She didn't count those play dates her parents organised all the time. It was nice of them though. The Woodsworth siblings were OK, and they didn't have parents. Their butler took care of them. He was a nice old man and he made the best hot chocolate.

At school most of the people pitied her and she hated that, hence she stayed clear of most of the girl 'camps'. Gossip still spread though. Sometimes she barely restrained herself from saying things that were not suited for a little lady like herself. Things that would've made a vagabond like that orange thing proud. The idea gave her a bitter sweet feeling.

Why did she want to be friends, anyways? She would know tomorrow, that was for sure.

*****888*****

Morning came sooner than she would've expected, and Michelle made sure to prepare herself for the day. She was even thoughtful enough to get that orange thing something to eat. She was sure that with all the commotion about her, she wouldn't be able to buy normal food. She shuddered at the thought. No one deserved that kind of thing... except the sick bastard that killed her brother and five other people. She shuddered again.

The maids looked at each other when Michelle had requested more food. Her parents had told them she hadn't eaten last night, so they had prepared extra anyways. But why did she want even more? Michelle was typically pecking at her food. She rarely ate more than half of her portion. They knew something was up, but complied anyways.

Of course, the maid that escorted her to the bus station noticed that she took a different bus than usual. Michelle had told her not to worry, and that she was going to the British Museum if her Parents asked. Unlike most of her snobbish peers, Michelle always took the public transport. She disliked the unhygienic-ness of if all but her parents were right about building character, and saving the environment. Plus she felt more at ease with larger groups of unknown people about her.

Soon enough she was at the British Museum, and she was carefully looking about for wisps of blonde hair and orange jumpsuit.

'Hi!'

Michelle jumped in fright and turned around to be face to face with the orange thing.

'Good morning to you too.' the pale girl greeted back, while blinking away the fright spell.

'So, you here to stare at the cat statues again? Doesn't it get boring after a while?'

'Actually, I am here because of you. You were on the news last night. Care to tell me how you managed to sleep in this..._drafty _ place?'

'Oh, you get used to it after a while. I have an extra puffy sleeping bag with me. It's a bitch to carry around with all the other shit in my bag- what?'

Michelle had been cringing at the girls language.

'Would you mind not using such foul words? Your offensive language is hurting my sensitive inner ear.'

'Oh, OK, Snobby-chan! Hey! You brought food!'

And the blonde menace promptly grabbed the lunch box from the girl and unceremoniously opened it to see what was inside.

'Letuce sandwiches? Soy milk? Bleh! Oh, at least the chocolate is real!' She grabbed a chocolate candy bar and tried to open it only to find it missing from her hand and in the protective clutch of a now dangerously glaring pale snobbish little lady. 'O-K. You can keep the chocolate...but seriously! This isn't food! You don't know what food is, until you try a real, big, fat and juicy hamburger.

Michelle looked a little green.

'Urgh. No, thank you. I'd rather have my lunch box back if you are not going to eat anything healthy.' And she promptly took her lunch box back.

'Healthy? This ain't not healthy food woman! This here is GMO suicide!'

'I'll have you know that the products are GMO free. My personal maid has checked.'

'Still, soy milk? What's next? Tofu cheese-cake?'

'Of course.'

'You're impossible! How are you even ali- oh yeah. The chocolate. Even snobbish brats like yourself can enjoy simpler things in life.'

'I do not see why you are complaining from my choice of diet when you yourself are overweight and do not have any food at the moment.'

'Of course I have food on me!' Fiona exclaimed back, a little too vigorously, growling a little even. She earned the stares of two old Japanese ladies who gasped. '_What are you staring at, old coots?' _The blonde shouted at them in fluent Japanese, which made the two old Japanese ladies to swiftly trot out of there.

'That was uncalled for.'

'Yes it was! The shorter one called me a hobo!... I think...'

'Chances are she did not.'

There was silence, but not an uncomfortable one.

'So...what were you doing here again?'

'I came to make sure you have not starved to death nor that you have poisoned yourself by eating hazardous food.'

'Honestly, how old do you think I am?'

'Eight, nine at most.'

'I have ration bars, thank you very much! And I have some 50 euro which should be enough to cover-'

'You are practically on national television and you think you will be able to dodge the police for as long as you'd like?'

'I can sure try!' Fia flashed her a cheeky smile.

'You are the one who is being impossible. I do not know what possessed me to seek you out again.'

'Morbid curiosity?'

'It was a rethorical question.' Michelle glared.

'So, what's your name. I never caught it.'

'Oh. Pardon my horrid manners. My name is Michelle Jessica Keats... though I am not sure if it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.'

Fia giggled.

'Your English is funny.'

'And yours is atrocious. Look, I know you plan on being a fugitive for a few more days but like the dedicated citizen of this Kingdom, ruled by her Majesty, the Queen (bless her soul), I feel responsible for your well being, especially when you have taken interest into our culture to the extend of running away.'

Fia blinked.

Silence.

'Must I repeat myself?' there was irritation in Michelle's voice.

'Oh, no. I caught that. You just tend to raise your chin when you talk about yourself, thats all.'

Michelle's brows creased in irritation. She then sighed ( and counted to 10). The pale girl pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. For a moment Fia thought she was calling the cops.

'Samantha, would you come over to the British Museum. I'd like to have a guest at home. Of course. I will call Mama and Papa when I arrive with my guest. Yes, of course. Prepare lunch for two and some clean set of clothes. … And the bathroom. Yes. Thank you. Of course.'

Michelle put her cell phone back into her pocket and looked at the staring blonde.

'You really raise your chin when you talk all high and mighty.'

'Silence yourself for a few moments, please. Do you have all of your things with you? You are coming with me home. If I am to escort you on your tour about London, I expect you to be at least of presentable appearance. Those horrid orange...clothes... Will. Not. Do.' Michelle scrunched her nose up in disgust.

Fiona just shrugged and followed her. This was proving to be interesting. Who knew she was going to tour about London with a genuine British snob? She was extatic.

*****888*****

Apparently, this Michelle girl lived outside of London. In a really big and expensive manor. With servants and guards and everything.

'Welcome to Keats Manor. Please feel yourself at your leisure... then again, don't. Knowing how disgusting you can be, I should probably direct you to the closest bathroom to get yourself adequately sanitized. Miss Samantha has prepared a bubble bath for you and some new clothing while the other maids take care of...your current...attire.'

Fia wondered why she hated her lovely cute orange outfit. The overalls were so adorable! And her jacket was almost the same as that anime character, Naruto, whose anime had started airing recently. It felt good to have some sort of rise in popularity among her school peers, especially when you uncannily resembled the lead character. She expertly ignored the tiny voice of her subconscious that told her her peers also laughed behind her back and called her 'class clown'. She was more of a class menace, really. Oh well.

The genuine English Snobbish Bubble Bath, as she had dubbed it, was nothing short that amazing. When she got herself dressed, one of the maids helped her dry her hair and even styled it. Fia actually startled herself by looking at one of the mirrors. She actually looked like one of those cherubims she had seen in the British museum. But that was not how she felt. And she felt like a wild child, a citizen of the world. She felt free of the oppressive single mindedness that kept surrounding her lately.

'Miss, Lady Michelle is expecting you in the dining room. Lunch has been served.'

'Oh, of course. Give me a sec.' Fia took one last look before coming down with the maid.

And of course, Fia just had to stop and look around the dining room. It was huge! And so lavish and luxurious and everything! Just then Fia thought what it would be like if she lived that kind of lifem with that kind of comfort. To have someone taking care of every single whim. The blonde smiled wistfully. Her parents were well off, but rarely something could compare to an age old wealth in the form of inheritance. Maybe she could earn some money on her own someday? Her parents always forbade her this and that and always nagged her about being irresponsible and stuff. She wondered why hadn't she thought of making money herself earlier.

She shrugged.

'Are you going to stand there and make a fool of yourself by gaping, or are you going to dine with me?'

'Hold your horses! I'm coming at my own pace.'

Just then, there was a small smile forming on Michelle's lips. Something that her ever loyal maids hadn't seen ever since her brother had died.

Maybe it was a little irrelevant, but Michelle's brother had been a stud and a half, almost as handsome as his father, who was a well known sex god around London, and ungodly faithful to his wife, for all those fangirls' misfortune. The young master's death had been a heavy blow to the poor maids' hearts. It was because of that that they took extra care of the young mistress, as she had been the pride and joy of her big brother.

The two were eating in silence, save for the occasional noisy gulp or munch that came from an ever ravenous blonde.

'So, where are we going first?'

'Excuse me? I wasn't listening.'

Fia swallowed and repeated her question.

'I was thinking to make a tour with a vehicle around London and then visit wherever you feel like.'

'Are we going to tour in a limousine?'

MJ creased her brows in irritation. But...on second thought...why not?

'If you desire so.'

'Great! I can't wait to mumbo-jumbo in a limo!' she smiled cheekily, earning a disgusted grimace from the pale girl, who had the misfortune of seeing a half-chewed bite of chicken.

'Please refrain from doing that in the near future, if you could be so kind?' Michelle managed to say, while holding back her urge to vomit.

'Sorry.' Fia apologised.

'Apology accepted.'

For several minutes there was only the clatter from Fia's utensils. Michelle was already done with her fill.

'Are you going to be finished soon, or are you going to finish yourself first?'

Fia burst into snorts.

'Urgh! There's chicken inside my nose!'she yelped a second later, holding her nose with both hands, with a pitiful expression on her face.

Michelle promptly turned green and fainted.

**-30 minutes later-**

'This is one big limo!' Fia exclaimed while looking at it with up most interest.'Can I see the engine?'

Michelle stared at the weird girl. Why did she always ask such weird questions?

'I come to the conclusion it will not be harmful for either of us. Just don't touch anything, I do not wish to see you dirty again, especially when you had to change your clothes after lunch.' Michelle started to turn green at the still fresh memory but she stoically shook it off. 'Am I clear?'

'As an Uke's ass!'

For a moment the pale girl wondered whether to cry or to call one of her guards to beat the blonde's face in. The moment passed.

'You have five minutes.'

**-5 minutes later-**

'When I said five minutes, that did not mean you were obliged to count the seconds.'

'But I like counting seconds.'

'You are aware that that is a possible sign to have doctors working with psychological pathology concerned with your mental health, are you not?'

'Feh, I'm just too smart to keep my smarts to myself.'

'I fail to see the relevance.'

'I've been to several shrinks. According to them, I am some kind of rare prodigy with extraordinary focus.'

'You are rarely focused in my presence.'

'Because I'm busy being focused at other things.'

'Care to give an example?'

'…'

'As expected.'

'You just like being smug, but that's OK, Snobby-chan. I still wanna be friends.'

'…'

Fia smiled brightly.

That had been the beginning of an everlasting and beautiful friendship. After several days in which Fia spent with MJ, her parents finally caught wind of her and on the last day of their bussiness trip they found their daughter and her host talking to each other, saying their goodbyes.

'You should refrain from calling me this 'Snobby-chan', Fiona, or you will regret it dearly.'

'There is no way in the seven hells that I will call you Michelle! How about MJ?'

'My name is wonderful and for your information it means 'God beholds the god-like descendant of the bold!'

Fia was clearly unimpressed.

'No wonder you are so full of yourself.'

'Hn.'

'See! There is that attitude again!And my name means the Fair Gracious Gift of Jehova, so Nya!'

'What have I told you about doing that?'

'Not to do it, but I go against your principles and do it anyways. Still, even Michael is better than Michelle!'

'You are impossible.'

'Michael, like Michael Jackson!'

Michelle rolled her eyes.

'I've had a blast with yah. Well, see ya, Michael! We'll keep in touch!'

Fia left with her parents, leaving the pale girl with a warm glowing feeling within her. Of course she would keep in touch. She'd even write her some old fashioned but very classy letters like the ones she fawned over at that antique shop. It was nice to have a friend. And Paris was not THAT far to visit.

_*****End of Flashback*****_

'Eep!'

Another kunai whizzed by!

'Stop running and fight like a real man!'

'But you told me to run!' Fia yelled back at her frenzied friend.'Kawarimi!'

'Get back here you coward!'

'Cowards live to see another day! Eep! Kawarimi!'

'Arghh! Stop moving so I can kill you, damnit!'

'No wai! Kawarimi!'

Those shouts could be heard all over Amegakure.

'Itachi, what is going on.' Pein asked the stoic Uchiha who was before him in his office.

'Michael-chan is trying to kill the blonde.'

'And you are not stopping it. Why?'

'It is a good exercise for both of them.'

'I see. Your report?'

'Michael-san is quite adept at Taijutsu, as her report stated. Rose-san is interesting though. The woman is obviously leader material and she was kind enough to help me subdue the other two without unnecessary force. Fiona lacks discipline of any sort but is as devious as her report says and even more.'

'If it wasn't for Rose-san's usefulness, they would not be here. Then again all of them would prove to be powerful assets to Ame.'

'Of course, Leader-sama.'

'Do you think you can handle all three of them, though?'

'Leader-sama?' Itachi was slightly confused, Leader never asked, he only ordered. Then again the girls had proved too much even for some of the best, par the Akatsuki themselves.

'I will not repeat myself.'

'Of course, Leader-sama. I feel I am capable of handling all three. But I prefer dealing with the raven-haired girl. She is need need of the most training, and also shows the most potential in what I have to offer as a Sensei.'

'And the other two?'

'Sasori-san seems to be immune to Fiona's … immature character. He might be able to train her further, especially when he is already using her as a helping hand in his workshop.'

'I have heard about that. I shall take your report into consideration. You may leave, Itachi. Be here tomorrow morning at 6 for orders.'

'Of course, Leader-sama.'

With that, the stoic Uchiha shunshined away in a swirl of leaves, leaving Pein to his thoughts.

_**A/N: The way things are going, Breaking Point will have a Part three :D So, what do you think about my latest chapter, I think I've given an interesting bit of info about how MJ and Fia met. I have a few more things prepared for the 'Breaking Point' chapter, which is the reason why it takes me so long to update it and also why I'm putting it up in parts. I am also considering adding how Leo and Fia met, though it's more likely that to be saved for a better and more appropriate occasion. **_

_**And yet again, I left the best part for Part 3. You're gonna like it :D Contains some Yuri action. That's all I'm saying!**_


	45. Breaking Point pt 3

_**A/N: Heya guys! A couple o'weeks and no new chapters? What's up with that? Well, I had a tough few weeks and at the time I was writing chapter 44, the little 'Yuri' bit seemed relevant to me but seeing how tired I am as of lately, I thought about it again and decided not to add it as of yet. Among other things, it was pointed out, that Itachi changes the way he refers to MJ. The reason for that is going to be disclosed at some point though it is still early for that. All I am going to say is that I wrote about bonds when I introduced Summer into the Naruto world.**_

_**Anyways, I salvaged some of the original text written about Akatsuki Fan Club. Back in the day, some 5 years or more ago, the AFC was a bit of a crack story with A LOT of made up stuff that in the process of writing the story I was not fond of, mainly because it felt so…I dunno, too Mary-Sue-ish to me. The reason for my unusually wrong Author's Note Corner today? Rose used to have a brother named Timothy, who was the original Tobi cosplayer. She was a law student bag then, with bright dyed orange hair, newly received big boob job and real golden piercings, like the ones of the Yahiko Pein. With all of the cracky-ness I also found the roots, the origins of what is today the Moons of Red you all know. This also reminded me why I kept journals (NOT diaries) for about 7 years of my life. I relived moments through what I have written from back then. Like the way we had created Shiro, through the moments in which Fiona turned out to be the daughter of Akasuna no Sasori and the last, now deceased, Ryuukotsei (fictional clan with the fictional super over-powered Ryuugan). All those things I read from the time sis and I first created the concept of this story… those things made me think. I also saw how much I've improved over the years. A lot of inconsistencies are gone, in terms of proper plot writing.**_

_**So, at this point in my life, I came to the conclusion that I need to have a journal. Somewhere to just write my thoughts and to express myself freely. I don't like to keep diaries, but journals are different, to me at least. They're different because I can express myself freely and people can read what I thought and felt at the time; it's in a way a delayed conversation with someone. With the reader. I especially enjoyed rereading some of my real masterpieces from that time period. It reminded me why I liked writing so much. Well, I should start writing chapter 45 now before you all hate me for the long Author's Note. Hehe.**_

_**Oh, almost forgot the new column, aka the review reply column!**_

_**To Mida Fado's 'Five bucks says Itachi will get some eye twitching from the three girls.' Well… Five bucks says …um… actually, you might have a point there. As scary as it sounds.**_

_**To DBZLOVER: not everything in life turns out fantastic. Kind of like going to Disney land to find out Mickey mouse is a retarded guy in a costume. So, it was intentional to make it lame. And it is obligatory for Rose to be cool.**_

_**To the rest of you guys: I read all of my reviews and I wanna say thanks to each and every one of you!**_

_**HOLY SHIT! I FOUND THE MANUSCRIPT! Ahem. I just went to look for some stuff and opened one of the notebooks I salvaged from the hungry jaws of the fireplace… and there it was! First five chapters' manuscript!**_

_**EDIT: Happy new year to everybody! I hope I can finally update my MoR story.**_

36 hours.

36 hours was all it took Pein to finally convince himself that those girls were not ordinary. 36 hours of pure and unpredictable chaos. And those Kage Bunshin. As a very serious and devoted leader of a village, he warned that for a few moments if his villagers and think less of him now that this was over. Chances were that the found them fun and entertaining. They did possess enthralling charm, and from what seems to be year and years of practice. Even he found them and entertaining. Fiona tended to visit him every few days with some dish other, usually something weird that he had never heard of. But she always had an ulterior motive –usually called off the rain for a few hours every day while the foraged for herbs in mushrooms. Not to mention that the obligatory critter extermination. That was one of the traits that showed the blonde in a less appealing light, but she did not shy from bloodshed, which is vital for a ninja.

The entire men started, according to Sasori, when the blonde, as an act of desperation, managed to produce two Kage Bunshin, which saved her life as a point when she was about to get pummeled berserking Jessica. The record he was holding was nothing short of a bizarre fairy tale.

***Flashback***

'Foolish bimbo. You thought the Keats heir defeated so easily. You have made an unwise decision.' A good impression with a twist of Blood queen Lana'thel, Fia thought, at which point another part of herself sounded the panic alarm. 'suffer! Can you handle this? Here it comes.'

'Eep!' Fia squeaked like cornered game and, somewhat on instinct, formed the single seal needed for the Kage Bunshin no jutsu. There was a puff of smoke And there was a crushing sound Of the impact of A fist into a brick wall.

The smoke cleared, revealing a furious MJ, whose fist had created a dent in the wall. On her size with two identical and cowering Fionas, who were shielding their heads and was slightly crouching. When, for a few milliseconds nothing happened, they blinked and reluctantly released their stance, mirroring each other's movements perfectly.

Not too far away, an identical blonde was scurrying away, quickly picking up her pace. When a horrified Eep! Were heard, followed by a reasonably loud sound of impact and several worried shouts of 'Jessica-chan!' The freaked out girl bolted even faster.

**888**

'Da…Danna! Hide me!'

The Hiruko doll turned to find itself face to face with a panicked blonde.

'Insufferable brat. I'm not helping you Itachi. Learn to live with the consequences.'

'Mr. Weasel King? Save me from MJ! She's out for my blood. Quickly! You're always hunched over so there is room under your cloak!'

'Brat!'

'Ooh! Danna! I didn't know you have a belly drawer!' the young woman whispered excitedly. That was probably the most surrealistic and obnoxiously ridiculous thing Sasori had heard in his life, and he had some 20 or more years of ninjahood behind his back, which was saying something. For a few moments there was utter silence.

'Danna, there's a really cute red head in your belly drawer.' Fia stated.

Sasori frowned with irritation and then glared with his intense light chocolate eyes.

'It's me, you brat!'

Fia blinked with expertly feigned confusion and then grinned mischievously and in an almost sultry way.

'Ne, Danna, you are a very, VERY, cute red head.' There was the kind of adoration in her voice one would hear when a 3 year old spoke of their plush kitten. It took only a few milliseconds for Sasori to realize why he had a feeling of dread. The woman had a somewhat weird fetish for Red headed people. Not to mention her utter obsession with Leader-sama. It too him only so much to suppress the imaginary sweat drop. He was a professional and as such, he never showed emotion other than the occasional discontented frown or glare.

The reason why he was feeling this dreadful feeling was because that same red head fetish was the origin of her so called 'Kiss a thousand cute red heads' achievement project. And he was about to become number 578. Even Rose-san was in the list. No wonder why she was so proactive about borderline sexually harassing Leader-sama. Not to mention why she used Rose-san as a pillow all the time. And to think he thought the girl bisexual for using the woman's impressive bosom as pillows all the time.

Ahem. Reality check.

There was a sound of a door closing and Sasori could almost feel the electrifying chill that went down Fiona's spine.

'Hide me!' she whispered and shoved herself in the…belly drawer.

'Hmpf! Brat!' Sasori tried to protest…but… Well. This was Fia and desperate situations called for desperate measures. Like shoving her bosom in Sasori's face. For a buxom clumsy blonde she sure knew how to operate in tight…situations. The 'belly drawer' was closed just in time to completely conceal her presence. MJ finally found the Hiruko doll, which was as immobile as usual, save for the swishy movements of the metal scorpion tail. Sasori noted the black haired girl's knuckles were bloodied and possibly broken and now swelling.

'Where is she?' she looked around in a crazed manner, inspecting every nook and cranny, her voice filled with bloodlust.

'If you are talking about the brat, I haven't seen her since Uchiha Itachi took her away. Tell her she has a quota to finish if she still wants to 'hang around' if you see her.'

With that, The Hiruko puppet turned around and completely ignored MJ.

There was a tense silence for several minutes until Jessica finally gave up and stormed away. Of course, he could've revealed Fiona's position but it would've been more troublesome and it might've involved a bit of fighting, which was against the ruled set by Pein-sama, according to handling the girls. In all honest, if he had no idea of the girls' real status, he would've dealt them the old fashioned way. That would've taught them to be nice and quiet. And had they been nice and quiet, they would've saved everyone bit of nerves. This would've been ideal for a man like himself, who hated to wait and making people wait. Simply put- the impatient type.

Several more minutes passed before either Fiona or Sasori would utter another word. It was rather crowded inside Hiruko and the two of them were simply staring at each other. Sasori noted mentally that Fiona had no troubled to bend any way within Hiruko, which surprised him, seeing as she was a meaty growing girl, and her being so agile was one of the last thing she would strike as. Now was also a good time to reveal their compromising position. Hiruko was a doll that spent most of its time hunched over, meaning that Sasori was currently on top of Fiona and he was also having the great opportunity to discover just how pillow-like her bosom was.

'Is she gone?' the girl breathed with a barely audible whisper. She looked uncharacteristically focused and serious, if only for a fraction of a moment. Consistency, talent and potential were all things she possessed, not to mention a slightly mad brilliant mind. But she was no ninja.

She relaxed and exhaled, the tension finally leaving her body. Sasori felt himself follow the deflating motion of her chest and it was only his ninja instincts that saved him from crashing his face into hers. Azure sapphires stared into his very own gleaming cherry wood orbs in the semi darkness of Hiruko's insides. At that very moment the renowned Puppet Master of Suna realized how compromising his position was, cramped in there with an extremely hot blonde who was almost half his age and whose legs were wrapped around his like rigid nun-chucks.

Not that he was about to complain. It had been a while since he was last in such a warm female embrace. He had given up his humanity and desires for the sake of the Ultimate Art. He did not have needs either. In a vague manner, this moment reminded him of his childhood, of days in which he was still an innocent child. Still remotely human. There was a sense of loss and longing within his heart. One that reminded him of all the things he sacrificed for his art. Of all the things that made it so precious. And before him was a young brilliant woman with a great future ahead of her. And in those sapphire eyes he could see all the things he gave up. All the things that he never had. And an iron resolve and desire that were all too familiar and that were glowing in himself as well. For all the incompetence and childishness the girl possessed, which greatly contradicted with her redeeming qualities, he could still see himself in there.

She had what it takes to be apprentice.

But Sasori would be damned for all of his eternity of a lifetime if Deidara suddenly decided to show up by some utterly random and damnable fates and saw his Danna 'thrown into the mercies of a beautiful woman' as said woman had once put it so eloquently into words.

'Ne, Sasori-Danna?' Fia addressed him sweetly, softly, with a note of adoration.

'What is it, Brat?'

Sasori frowned at her, noting how carelessly and trustfully her hands were wrapped around his frame. He could even feel the intense heat radiating from her body. That heat was intensified by the dampness within it, indicating recent strenuous activity. Sasori prayed to the fickle fates for Deidara to have some other business today than to visit him.

'You are a very cute red head.' There was a note of giggle to her voice.

His eyes widened slightly as he remembered about the-

Sasori felt a small, gentle peck on his lips. It was so innocent and child-like.

'You're so precious, Danna.' She stated and then she cuddled him.

Of course. The 'Kiss a thousand cute red heads'. And she called him precious.

For the first time in many years, Sasori felt his heart swell with warmth and belonging.

**888**

That day Deidara had been busy gathering clay for his jutsu and hadn't visited his Danna's workshop. That day, MJ found herself hospitalized and tranquilized, her arms a bloody mess. She would remain in the hospital for 2 more days with Rose her only company, as Fiona had yet to dare and apologize to MJ.

Rose exhaled and shook her head. She turned a page from the book she was reading, while sitting on a chair next to MJ's bed. Speaking of the raven headed girl, she had been staring motionlessly at the white ceiling, deep in thought. The Rinnegan bearing woman was perfectly aware this was the drawback for having such an emotional explosion. It was something she had never seen before, but Fia had spoken once of a time…when something like this had happened before. It had been a slip up, but it was all it took for a lawyer such as herself to pick it up.

It was that single slip up that was the reason why she ordered MJ to personally escort her whenever a certain young German woman named Helen was around at Conventions. Helen, for that was only how she knew her, was a pleasant young woman with beautiful features and ash blonde hair. Her green eyes and pleasant complexion were the reasons she made such a good Sakura. And she had quite the hair styling skills as, at first, the AFC Leader had thought the pink wig actual hair. Helen was the ultimate fanatical stalker of a fangirl. The type that loved their idols to death, both ways.

Helen was a gay. There was nothing wrong to be gay, and Rose herself was pretty open-minded about it. But there was plenty of wrong in stalking someone into paranoia. She usually let Fia deal with Helen while she herself and Tifa were shielding their perfect Itachi Cosplayer.

Apparently, during the Oktoberfest in 2009, Helen had stolen MJ's first kiss which resulted in a psychological break down for the poor then 13 years old girl. Women were not meant to kiss other women without their consent. Period. And since at the time MJ was still into a more boyish cosplay version of Itachi, it was easy to understand why Helen said that she first realized she was gay when she found out MJ was a girl. And then she had been 15 at the time.

**Oktoberfest 2009, Munich**

Festivals across the globe like the Oktoberfest were always a great opportunity for a fabulous fan service photo shoots. Such was the case with the AFC delegation that was currently strolling about in Munich, taking pictures every now and then.

MJ, Fia and Hatorri and their families had decided to visit Oktoberfest with Fia and Hatorri's paternal grandparents. Using the opportunity for some excellent fan service photo-shoots, Fia had called L-chan, who had called Tifa, who had Dragged along Charlie and Benjamin. MJ had dragged along the Woodsworth kids, who, being orphans, easily spent almost all of their time with MJ at Keats manor. All in all, it was a great big party in the making and the chance encounter of one Serbian Jiraya cosplayer at the event certified the entire ordeal as an awesome outing for the AFC.

While the parents were spending their time mostly children free, the adult AFC members were 'baby-sitting' the kiddie AFC members. All in all everything was perfect.

Well, as perfect as it could be, until a certain Helen squealed with fanatical fangirl resolve and darted for an unsuspecting MJ. And the poor 13 year old girl found herself tackled to the ground in a lip lock with another girl. For her utter horror.

Sometimes Rose wondered why Fia always said that since she was out of her teen years she had missed on the chance of adventures which they lived through almost on a daily basis. Maybe there was truth in those words. Sometimes things like wisdom and humility could be found in the weirdest places, like socks.

So, Helen and MJ were in a lip lock, apparently they had met Helen a year prior to this encounter and ever since then, said German Helen was utterly obsessed with what she thought was a boy Itachi Cosplayer. Poor Jessie had screamed bloody murder and then she fell into a state of shock in which Helen, oblivious to her surroundings, professed her undying love. Rose found that MJ was never exactly the same ever since. As if a piece of innocence was ripped from her yet again. Thus MJ was smugger and more cynical than ever.

And then came the slip up to mind.

At the time Fia and MJ shared a hotel room and Rose was not present when it had happened, but apparently Fia drugged MJ in time to stop her from going on a homicidal revenge-driven mission. Rose had only asked once and had received a very straightforward answer.

'Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.'

It wasn't that Fia did not trust Rose. In fact, the sheer act of her not telling Rose about what exactly had happened that night spoke volumes about the bimbo's character. Volumes of the depths one's consciousness went. And it was all it took for her, a young lawyer, to understand the respect the girl had for people's right to choose whom they tell their secrets.

Maybe that was one of the reasons Fia's friends were true friends. Because she understood and gave them the choice whether to tell the rest or not. Rose was almost certain Fia knew them all better than they did themselves.

**888**

'So you tell me that somehow you managed to produce two Kage Bunshin when Jessica-san tried to eliminate you.'

'Hai, Sasori-Danna.'

'And you've yet to return to your apartment in fear of further retaliation?'

'Hai, Sasori-Danna.'

'Where did you sleep last night, then?'

'Here, Sasori-Danna.'

'Hn. You take an awful lot of liberties with me, brat.'

'Gomenasai, Sasori-Danna.'

Sasori swished Hiruko's tail in the same manner as an irritated cat.

'I've prepared an assortment of parts for you to put up together. I want to see if you are competent in construction as well as maintenance.'

'Hai, Sasori-Danna.'

'To start constructing anything, however, you must produce a Kage Bunshin.'

'Nani!'

An air of smugness surrounded the Hiruko puppet. Her short answers had started to gnaw on his nerves, figuratively speaking of course. There was a form of cuteness to her annoyingness but since he was a pragmatic person, Sasori failed to see the endearment in that moment. But he did see a potential student, eager to get to work.

Some several hours later, and some 10 Kage Bunshin present before him, Sasori deduced that the near death experience had somehow miraculously unlocked the ability to use the jutsu in the girl. This needed to be tested further, and he was almost completely sure that Fiona was planning such tests herself.

The good part of all of this was ten times more free labor. The bad part was that things got some ten times more annoying as well, as the now eleven Fionas were bickering among themselves to which he responded with finding them work to do.

Kage Bunshin were a marvelous thing. They were corporeal copies of one's self made of chakra and they had the amazing capacity of thinking for themselves. Kage Bunshin were an ingineus way for someone to be in two places at the same time. Because when someone's Kage Bunshin popped, whatever it experienced was automatically sent back to the original with the spare chakra.

And here is a more thorough Kage Bunshin explanation.

The Kage Bunshin no jutsu is a forbidden jutsu of Hidden Leaf, formerly from Whirlpool, homeland of the Uzumaki clan. One literally must split his or hers chakra reserve into the desired portions in order to produce one or more Kage Bunshin. This was part one of the Danger Alert. If one split their chakra into too small bits, they could die. The good news was that when the Kage Bunshin disperses itself, the chakra returns to the original.

A Kage Bunshin is a literal carbon copy of the user. It is corporeal and it cannot be detected with eye techniques such as the Byakugan and the Sharingan. The Kage Bunshin itself thinks and acts and is essentially the original, but it knows it is merely a copy and thus its actions are conducted by the original's orders…for the most part.

A Kage Bunshin gains experience which it then later transfers to the original. That's mostly a wonderful thing any time of day. But most Kage Bunshin live for a few minutes to a few hours. If the Kage Bunshin were too many or if they were learning things for too long before being dispelled, it is quite possible for the user to suffer a severe memory overload which could damage the brain to the point of permanent paralysis or brain damage and even death. That was the second part of the infamous Danger Alert that had pegged the Kage Bunshin Jutsu a forbidden jutsu.

Sasori was perfectly aware that for the next few hours, his soon to be student will practically relieve him from all of the mundane tasks he had for the week, which meant he would have plenty of time for research. Ah, the benefits of exceptional underlings.

But, as everyone knows, plot bunnies like to eat idyllic sceneries, especially freshly cut out ones such as this one. It was impossible for something not to go wrong. With one Fia, it was improbable for a whole day to go without accident, even a mildly minor one. With two Fias, the improbability meter breaks halfway and one should expect with upmost certainty some sort of disaster. When the scale is tipped surely into the impossibility range with eleven chance hazard bombs, one should head for the bunkers. Why? Simple. Fia is lucky, because she knows how to take her chances. She chooses the route of highest success, hoping for the best. When there are, lets say two Fionas, the second Fiona, seeing the first Fiona taking the highest success rate route, would take the second highest success rate route. And for Fiona, success rate is a complex equilibrium of personal success and collateral damage. Because there was always damage. In any given situation, with minor changes here and there, there are usually around five or six possible routes to take.

Now, with one Fiona (original one) being Sasori's personal assistant, the other ten Fionas could be easily divided into groups of two, taking up every possible general route of success. The brute worth of all of the collateral damage breaks all possible scales for a given situation.

Fiona by nature takes too much risks and collateral damage during her experiments, which cut down on research time and increase chance of greater success. Due to her immoral research work ethics, she was the perfect assistant in any possible way Sasori could think of.

Now, back to the groups of two. A group could be interpreted as a single unit when all members of that unit work for the same cause. That kept in mind, a unit made entirely of Kage Bunshin disregards personal dangers as a Kage Bunshin is not an actual living being, but a sentient manifestation of chakra, molded into a corporeal carbon copy of a single person from a distinct moment in time and space.

A single Kage Bunshin unit will calculate the complex success rate equilibrium by reducing personal safety and balancing it with more time needed for certain research project. With such changes to the main equilibrium, the collateral damage portion increases in proportion with the decreasing need for personal safety and will also decrease in proportion with the needed time to deem the specified project successful.

A quality personnel, so to speak, such as Fiona, works for a certain amount of time to produce a certain quality of finished work. Ten times said personnel reduces the amount of time, increases the man-hours within specified time limit and increases exponentially the quality of the finished product.

There was probably an elaborate mathematical function portraying all of this, but there was no point in divulging into it for this particular occasion.

To cut a looooong lection short, the Fia brand of Kage Bunshin held both her personal specifics and all those unknown occurring decisions that result into mass chaos. This just has to be stressed properly. Imagine ten carbon copies of Fiona who have no fear of death or consequences to themselves. Now imagine the fact that if Kage Bunshin are not given direct orders from the original, they tend to do whatever the original would do, given the circumstances, which means that if, lets say, one Naruto produces five Kage Bunshin and just leaves them somewhere while he takes a nap, the results would be, again, utter chaos.

And so, in the span of 36 hours, Fiona managed to apply the chaos theory, aka the butterfly effect. These 36 hours were yet to happen. But to understand, one must know the basics.

Chaos theory is a field of study in applied mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions; an effect which is popularly referred to as the butterfly effect. Small differences in initial conditions (such as those due to rounding errors in numerical computation) yield widely diverging outcomes for chaotic systems, rendering long-term prediction impossible in general. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future behavior is fully determined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved. In other words, the deterministic nature of these systems does not make them predictable. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos.

Long story short, if you kick a 3 year old kid with 20 bucks to live on the streets, he may turn out in the end from the next president to dead in three days. Chances were the kid won't hit the pointed out extremes, but as in general with anything chaos related, no one can predict long term effect. The same could be applied for the current situation. The situation that has yet to be revealed. The situation that caused a god to question his godliness.

Here are the initial conditions. One Fiona Johnson creates ten Kage Bunshin and gives them the direct order to finish whatever mundane tasks Sasori has for them. Said Kage Bunshin are not specified to self-destruct after achieving completion of the desired tasks. As a result they are given free reign.

The ten Kage Bunshin find themselves overtaken by boredom. This results into them deciding to pursue various form of entertainment. Given the competitive and mischievous nature of the original, the Kage Bunshin separate themselves into five groups of two and then set out to compete against each other while trying not to disperse themselves prematurely and alarming the original of their current status. All in all, chaos theory has passed them the awesome sauce.

**888**

**5 hours to event launch**

'Ne, Sasori-Danna, you said you had prepared assorted parts.'

'And that is what I've done.'

'But it's a corpse.'

'Of course.'

'It's preserved, I take it? Why isn't it stinky? Formaline for one stinks like hell.'

Sasori had no idea what formalin was, given the fact that many substances still went about with different names and in a ninja world information was power. But for those who were interested, Formalin was the trade name for the 10 per cent water solution of formaldehyde. The formalin used for corpse preservations was a 30 per cent water solution of the trade formalin. But that was on earth. Anyways, Sasori eyed Fiona suspiciously.

'Trade secret, Sasori-Danna? Ok, I won't ask.'

Sasori rolled his eyes. Hiruko was laying motionlessly in the corner, the puppet not being in any form effective for teaching human puppet preparations. Then again, Sasori now had the budding suspicion that the young woman has had her hands dirtied by human dissection before.

'Your first task will be to remove the innards and to clear the inside walls of the accumulated cavity.'

'Ok.'

'You've done this before.' It was a statement.

'Yeah, but don't advertise it, Sasori-Danna. I managed to pretend to be some new medical student once. I pulled it off for 5 whole weeks, too!' Fia confessed with a Cheshire grin on her face.

5 minutes later.

'Seriously, Danna, where are the latex gloves?'

'There is no need for them.'

'Haven't you heard of Hepatitis?'

'…'

'I'll go buy some gloves then.'

**3 hours to event launch**

'Hey! I'm done!' said a Kage Bunshin.

'So am I!' exclaimed another clone.

'I'll be done soon enough!' a third one called.

'Lemme help ya.' said the first clone.

'Okay.' answered the third.

'I'll help too!' proclaimed the second.

**1 hour to event launch**

Nimble fingers wielded the scalpel with upmost precision and determination. The body had been opened from the abdomen, a trademark autopsy cut revealing the entrails. Sasori was impressed with how quick and precise her cuts were, preparing the abdominal cavity for innards extraction.

With his own help, it was only a matter of time before the lungs and the heart would be removed, with the technique he was personally showing her. Of course, we was wearing protective clothes and long latex gloves as well, her 30 minute spiel on safety not being wasted. While Sasori himself was a puppet, he was not sure if his living parts would endure the strain of any sort of disease or infection that could pass through the container for his heart and brain. While most things were unable to penetrate, anything the size of a virus or a small bacteria was granted free pass. That meant more research. Not to mention the fact that he needed to redo the container coating, something he could not manage himself, per se.

Of course, he hadn't taken into account the fact Fiona was paranoid. It was very easy to forget such a fact, especially in certain circumstances and her ability to convince people. He was never in any real danger.

**Event Launch**

'Ne, Sasori-Danna.'

'Hn. What is it, brat?'

'Don't you think it suddenly got too quiet?'

'What do you mean, brat? Your Kage Bunshin must've finished their tasks.'

'Aren't I supposed to know that when they disperse themselves?'

'Yes, brat. Now keep working.'

'But they haven't dispersed themselves yet, Danna!'

Sasori stopped what he was doing and gave the now quickly panicking Fiona a very annoyed look.

'Then disperse them.'

'I don't know how.'

If Sasori could breathe, he would've exhaled in annoyance.

'Do the standard release form and say 'Kai'. It's that simple.'

'Kai!'

Nothing happened.

'Sasori-Danna, nothing happened!'

'You have one minute to check on the workshop.'

'Arigatou, Sasori-Danna.'

Fia cautiously walked out of the small dissection room and into the main hall of the workshop. Some 15 seconds later there was the sound of a loud crash and then there was a few moments of silence.

If Sasori had a pulse, he would've had a vein popping on him temple. He did frown deeply in irritation though.

'Sasori-Danna! I'm stuck!'

'Idiot brat.'

Soon enough the puppet master was greeted by the sight of Fiona Johnson tied up and hanging upside down, very much like a piñata, her big azure sapphire orbs doing a very good Q.Q impression. Sasori shook his head and twitched the fingers of his left hand, effectively using chakra strings to cut the girl loose, causing her to fall with a yelp and then an audible thud with an 'Oompf!' sound effect.

'Owie.'

'Silence brat.'

Sasori spotted a small piece of paper lying next to where Fiona had fallen. He picked it up carefully and looked around for any sudden suprises.

'Ne, what's that, Sasori-Danna.'

Sasori glared in the girl's direction and rolled his eyes. He did not reply but read the note, instead.

_Dearest and Upmost Respectable _

_Danna and Boss-woman,_

_We, the united front of ten rogue Kage Bunshin, offer our deepest and upmost sincere gratitude towards our creator, one Fiona Johnson, for, well, creating us and also offer our utter adoration and awe for the one and only TRUE Puppet Master and Scorpion King Extraordinaire, Sasori-Danna._

_As a united front of ten rogue Kage Bunshin, we like to inform you that we completed our designated tasks and then decided to pursue more tasks for the sake of entertainment and for the heck of it, since we hadn't been given any further instruction._

_Sincerest love and respect,_

_United Front of Ten Rogue Kage Bunshin._

_PS: Leader-sama is smoking hot!_

_PSS: We like pie._

_PSSS: She fell for the trap, didn't she, Danna?_

_PSSSS: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

_PSSSSS: You're the sex, too, Danna, but you're too cuddly to be our type._

Sasori reread the note and looked at a confused looking Fiona, who was waiting for him to say something. He looked at the note again and then back at Fiona.

What.

The.

Fuck?

'It appears your Kage Bunshin have ditched you in pursuit of chaos and stupidity.'

5

4

3

2

1

…

'Shit. Ohshitohshitohshitohshiiiiit!' Fia pulled at her hair and starded cussing rapidly.

Sasori proceeded with ignoring her and heading back towards the dissection room.

'Danna! Wait!'

'What is it, brat? I have work to do. So do you, in fact!'

'But…but…Danna! You don't get it! Do you know what my motto is? Live a full life with no regrets! And these are Kage Bunshin!'

'…' Sasori was still unimpressed and he stared dully at her annoying panicked antics.

'You don't get it, Danna! Think! Me! Times 10! With no regrets! Leader-sama's going to kill me!' at this point she started wailing with desperation. At this point, Sasori finally got what she was trying to tell him.

'Shit.'

'That's what I've been trying to tell you, Danna!'

'Go get Deidara, brat. They shouldn't be too far away.'

Sasori, while not panicked or anything, sounded quite alarmed and grave, and Fia removed the lab coat and latex gloves for a record time before darting to find Deidara. Unfortunately enough, though, Team Pein4evah, aka first Kage Bunshin team of two, had already gotten to him

**Time lapsed: 1 hour**

MJ was finally released from the hospital and Rose was escorting her back to their apartments, the raven-head's sack in Rose's hands, as MJ still needed a few more days before she was allowed to strain her previously heavily self-battered hands. MJ had an aura of irritation around her, mainly because she hated hospitals and she hated having to rest when she felt perfectly fine. How was she going to impress Itachi when she couldn't even do her katas? The train of thought led her to the still MIA Fiona, who was bound to show up these days.

MJ scowled, now feeling only mild irritation and discomfort with the matter and inserted the key to her own apartment door.

'You know, Fia should show up soon enough, Jessie.' Rose stated, as if knowing what was going on in MJ's mind.

'I know. I just wished she would simply turn up and apologize straight away for once.'

'Heh. I know what you mean. But then again, you wouldn't have accepted her apology right away, now would you?'

MJ smiled smugly, thinking of the severe beating Fia never took from her…this time.

'True, true.'

The two young women shared a small laugh.

'Do you think there is some left overs in the fridge?'

'Hmm…with these appliances from the 1950s? It's been two days, MJ. Not a chance.' L-chan's shoulder's sagged sadly for a moment.

Neither she nor MJ could cook. And with Fia missing in action that left only one option.

'So…take out?'

'Sure, MJ.'

A BALOON CAME OUT OF NOWHERE AND SLAMMED ITSELF INTO MJ'S FACE!

'Fucking shit! I'll fucking-'

Another balloon slammed itself into MJ's face, followed swiftly by a third one, which hit Rose square in the face as well. Both were now wet to the bone. L-chan's stoic pose showed just how peeved she was. A vein was pulsing on MJ's temple.

'Seriously, a Balloon attack?' Rose was clearly unimpressed.

'When I find her, I'll stick this bloody kunai up her bloody virgin va-'

Another set of balloons showered them. At least it was merely harmless water. Fearing a third onslaught, Rose swiftly closed the windows. And just in time too. The official AFC leader's eyes widened when she saw literal vapors of water leaving MJ's form. She was seething THAT intensely.

**Time Lapse: 3 hours**

'Seriously, Silver Iodide is easier to accumulate than dry ice, Congo 2.'

'Yeah, but ingestion of iodides may produce "iodism", which may be manifested by skin rash, running nose, headache, irritation of the mucous membranes, weakness, anemia, loss of weight and general depression.'

'Why do you care? We're Kage Bunshin! And It's only CHRONIC ingestion, not just ingestion, Congo 2.'

'I still prefer the dry ice better, Congo 1.' Congo 2 crossed her arms. Then she sighed and finally gave in to Congo 2's suggestions. 'Pfft, fine. It's not like it's going to actually work.'

'One never knows, we might actually achieve something. Now is the best time to try.'

'True, true, Congo 1.'

Silver iodide (AgI) is a yellow, inorganic, photosensitive iodide of silver used in photography, in medicine as an antiseptic, and in rainmaking for cloud seeding. In this particular case, It was going to be used for …rain making. The crystalline structure of AgI is similar to that of ice, allowing it to induce freezing (heterogeneous nucleation) in cloud seeding for the purpose of rainmaking. Approximately 50,000 kg/year are used for this purpose, each seeding experiment consuming 10-50 grams.

Seeing as Rain was nothing scarce in Rain Country, and seeing as Pein made sure there was tons of Rain, the thought of …'encouraging' the rain process randomly occurred. And here they were now, the two Kage Bunshin of Team Pie, arguing over which substance to use with two similar sketches of some sort of machine in their hands. A propelling device and a disperser were already prepared. It was time for the silver iodide itself. Maybe, if they were lucky enough, the project would be successful. Eh, wistful thinking.

**Time Lapse: 5 hours**

'Target Acquired. Red leader out.'

'Roger, Red leader. Position secured. Blue leader out.'

'Roger, Blue leader.'

A single Kage Bunshin was standing with a swiftly patched up sniper-like contraption, designed to shoot paint balls at great distances. Some 2 kilometers away, the other Kage Bunshin of Team Trap, Blue leader, was spying on the designated target, one Takeshiro-sempai on a family walk about Amegakure's Civilian Bazaar.

'Target in range and in position. Red leader out.'

'Roger, Red leader. Confirming position. Blue leader out.'

'Roger, Blue leader. On your mark. Red leader out.'

'Now!'

Sudenly, just as the family of four was enjoying the ice-cream Takeshiro just bought them, a swarm of colorful pellets rained hell upon the unsuspecting Sempai, causing mass confusion and panic in the midst of the colorful clouds that spread out from the impact.

'Waiting for visibility to confirm success. Blue leader out.'

'Roger Blue leader. Red leader out.'

Slowly, the brightly neon colored clouds settled to reveal …a very colorful and bright neon looking Takeshiro-sempai. He was twitching on the ground, ice cream still in one hand.

And in the midst of all of the mass confusion and panic, Blue leader slipped away.

'Target pulverized. Mission successful. Blue leader out.'

'Roger blue leader.'

Sadly, this was just only the beginning.

**Time Lapse: 10 hours**

Deidara was still snoring loudly, drool dripping from both hands and his mouth. He was currently tied up on a chair in a random basement in a random civilian house. Team Pein4evah did an awesome job if they could say so themselves. And they even made some clay bombs and mostly fireworks for the show they were planning. It was too bloody easy.

'Are you sure you used the right amount?'

'Well, duh! One spoonful for half a liter of water.'

'Pinky?'

'Yes, Brain?'

'It's half a spoonful for every liter of water, you dolt!'

'You told me otherwise!'

'No, I did not!'

'Yeah, you did!'

'Nuh-uh!'

'Ah-huh!'

'Nuh-huh!'

**Time Lapse: 14 hours**

'What are we going to do, Danna? We checked everywhere and even checked in with Pein-sama. Do you think he suspects something, Danna?'

'Of course. He is a ninja, not some civilian school girl.'

'Am I in trouble?'

'Yes.'

'Am I done for?'

'Yes.'

The Original Fia started crying hopelessly. But that was not the point.

The point was that they were being watched from a distance by Team EBIL, who reported their every move and thwarted them on occasion. Like they were about to do right now.

A bucket of water dropped its contents and itself on top of Fia. Naturally, Sasori's superb ninja instincts had left him dry. Same could not be said for Fia.

'Owie.'

'Idiot.'

Team EBIL did the silent high-five.

Sasori sighed.

'Maybe you should stop feeling sorry for your pathetic self, brat, and start thinking about getting out of this mess. It's not like they're someone else! They are you, brat.' Sasori was getting really irritated at this point. 'If anyone can figure out what they're thinking, that is you.'

'Yeah, well, Danna, They're ten of me and I'm alone by myself! And guess what, they know what I'm thinking as well since they're me! Would you figure that out? I can't believe I'm such an ass-hole to myself! I'm never making another Kage Bunshin as long as I live.'

'You'll probably break that promise.'

'You're probably right, Danna.' The Original Fiona sighed and stood up and started squeezing water out of her hair. 'God, I'm annoying!'

'Truer words were never spoken.'

'... I love you too, Danna.'

**Time Lapse: 18 hours**

For all the checking Sasori and Fia did, not once did they think of going back to the Workshop, where many of the tools had been left unsupervised. There were seals set up to protect the perimeter and the inside of the Workshop. And Fia was keyed in. But the Kage Bunshin were Fia. And Team Extreme had never really left the workshop, which was now more akin to a car garage. At this point of time, Team EBIL had provided the needed cover in order for Team Extreme, with members Spacy and Goo, had finally finished the chassis and support bars for the possibly very first car in the Narutoverse. Now all they needed were a few more hours in order to do a proper welding job of the engine parts. It was nothing fancy or anything. But they hoped for noise and for at least some 60kmph max speed. The chassis was quite stable as well.

Spacy and Goo were covered with machine oil and sooth. There was no time for talking.

**Time Lapse: 20 hours**

Team Pein4evah was sewing. Yes. Sewing. And had more sewing to do, still. There was a LARGE woven basket, big enough for a single person and lots of ropes. And sand bags. And several gas lamps.

**Time Lapse: 25 hours**

It was about time for Pein to actually get a hold of what was going on. True, he had his suspicions that something was amiss, but he was sure FIONA wasn't actually that dense to continue with these shenanigans. And she had promised to behave to the best of her abilities. Something was seriously amiss and Fiona was in the center of it. It was a gut feeling that centered around the general fact than some 60 per cent of all chaos was Fiona related.

**Time Lapse: 30 hours**

Investigation had brought Fiona to a Bazaar where witnesses explained what was going on. Namely classic pranks to the extreme. Fia, of course, blinked at the sight.

'Ne, Danna, a rainbow threw up here.'

Sasori was in his Hiruko puppet.

'More like your Kage Bunshin filled balloons with bright neon paint.'

Fia sighed.

'Maybe I should tell them to use a different detergent. They should use bleach.'

The Hiruko puppet swished its scorpion tail idly.

'Any ideas, brat?'

'Apart from them having a pneumatic long distance sniper gun?'

'Yes, apart from whatever that is.'

Hiruko suddenly moved away and a balloon hit Fiona square in the face.

'Aw, c'mon! I just got-'

Another balloon hit her. She was now perfectly wet. Hiruko swished its scorpion tail idly.

'I hate myself.' The blonde Bimbo whined.

**Time Lapse: 32 hours**

'The vehicle will be in working order in 3 hours. We need more time. Keep them away from the workshop.' Spacey instructed to a small transmitter.

'Pinky and Brain here. Team Pein4evah in position. Rockets in position.'

'Is Deidara still asleep?'

'…yes.'

'Dolts.'

'Team trap in position.'

'Team pie in position.'

'Team EBIL is still distracting targets.'

The Kage Bunshin known as Goo started laughing in the most evil mad scientist and dramatic way she could possibly muster. Then she choked.

'Ahem. Soon, everything will be ready… for the ultimate prank of the century!'

'Get back to work, Goo! The engine won't construct itself.'

'Eh, shut up, spacey, You're only cranky because I pulled out the 'Leader' ticket and you didn't. So, Nye!'

'So, Nye! Yourself!'

**Time Lapse: 34 hours**

'Brain?'

'Yes, Pinky?'

'Do you think setting Deidara loose in the hot air balloon was a good idea? What if he sleep walks?'

'He'll be fine. I just wish we could've seen his face when he woke up.' Brain sniggered at the mental image.

'Yeah…not to mention the pink dress and clown make up!'

Both Kage Bunshin doubled over in laughter. Soon enough Team Pie turned up with the Silver Iodide concoction.

'Do you think Pein-sama is going to make it rain too soon?'

'There are clouds. We need to hurry. He might set them off when he sees the 'fireworks'.'

'Do you think it'll work?'

'I sure hope so. I even brought white T-shirts!'

'Wet T-shirt parade?'

'Yep!'

'I'm so awesome.'

'Yeah I am!'

The four Kage Bunshin giggled.

**Time Lapse: 35 hours**

When normal people see fireworks, they cheer and enjoy them. When ninja see fireworks, they sound the panic alarms. It took Pein mere 1 minute to start the rain machine. The fireworks were still going for another 10 minutes though and all over Amegakure. As much as he tried to find the culprits, he could not locate them. Merely because the fireworks launched with timed mechanisms.

And so, it started Raining. But there was a measly little fact about chakra and silver iodide. So it started down pouring. And Pein, no matter how much he tried, could not stop the watery onslaught. He was definitely locking up Fiona. For the sake of his own sanity, at least. Good thing that Konnan wasn't here. She would've been nagging him about how she told him so and how these girls were nothing but trouble.

**Time Lapse: 36 hours**

Some half an hour ago it started down pouring and Sasori seemingly disappeared into thin air. Apparently, she was on her own when the shit hit the fan. Fia sighed sadly. She couldn't blame Sasori for wanting to save his own hide. Pein was scary when he wanted to be. It was her own fault. And she would face the consequences with pride. On the bright side, she probably proved to be her very own menacing force. Then again at what price? MJ currently wanted to kill her. L-chan was probably in a 'I am disappoint' mode, Deidara was probably kidnapped and utterly humiliated, judging by the firework show that transpired. Ninja were on high alert, people were screaming. There was mass panic, Pein was going to kill her and on top of that she was still a bloody virgin.

Fia sighed sadly, her eyes not seeing the chaos and about her. She was sitting on the side of the street, as wet as a dead rat in the sewers. There was no point in running. She was getting her ass kicked anyways.

It wasn't her fault that the Kage Bunshin took after her chaotic tendencies. And she tried so many times to dispel them. Nothing seemed to work. Even getting herself knocked out did not help. Maybe that was another part of why the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was a forbidden jutsu.

'Fia! You are SO dead!'

'Jessica! Wait!'

Fia looked up to see a glaring Michael Jessica Keats and Rose holding her back by the shoulder.

'MJ! Wait! Just listen, ok? I made Kage Bunshin! They're taking over!'

Both MJ and Rose stared dumbly at Fia.

'What are you talking about?'

'I can't dispel them and they left a note they're going rogue and they're so getting me into trouble. I am so dead. They did this! I know it!' and at that point Fia broke down, crying hysterically and radiating desperation.

'If she is ACTUALLY crying like that, she must be telling the truth, Rose.'

'I believe her as well.'

'Fia, we can find them and-'

There was the loud roar of an engine and through the heavy downpour something shiny and metal-y passed by making people scream and run even more hysterically. Naturally, they knew that had to be some kind of vehicle. But were those TEN blonde Bimbo's wearing nothing but their panties and white T- shirts?

'Holy shit!' Fia exclaimed in horror.

'After them!' MJ ordered and ran off after them. Rose and Fia soon followed.

'They're too fast!' MJ shouted at her two companions

'They're going at 40 kmph! And the engine is too loud even in this rain. We can't catch up to them, though.' Fia yelled back at MJ.

It wasn't easy following the vehicle either, seeing as there were so many people on the streets.

'This is fucking peachy! Haven't they heard of evacuation plans?' Fia exclaimed angrily.

'You can suggest some ideas to Leader if you survive.'

'Haha, very funny, MJ.'

Then, suddenly, there was the screech of wheels on the road not too far ahead.

'They stopped! Quickly.'

The three girls finally caught up to the now immobile vehicle. Fia managed to take a good look at it. It was merely bare metal pipes, an engine and some other things, wheels, some improvised seats and headlights. Inside of it were the ten missing Kage Bunshin. They were wearing only some red bandanas around their heads, white T-shirts and panties. Wet white T-shirts. And they were cheering like groupies at something in front of them.

Fia looked up to where the headlights illuminated the form of a figure, hanging in midair, among the heavy downpour. She sucked in a breath in awe.

'Amazing.' She breathed.

It was Pain, in all of his wrathful glory. His grey ringed eyes could be seen even at this distance. A scowl was marring his pale face. He stretched out a hand…

'Oh no…' Rose mumbled.' Pein-sama! Wait!'

But it was too late. The vehicle exploded, raining parts in every direction. The Kage Bunshin disappeared in a puff of smoke. Pein looked at what he believed was the offending party, namely Fia. He saw her frozen with shock, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. The next few moments stretched out for him, as he realized that Rose-san was screaming at him. MJ was looking confusedly at the whole situation, trying to figure out what exactly had gone wrong. He looked at Fiona again, he was staring at him with this deer-like expression. Her azure sapphire orbs rolled up in her sockets and her knees buckled. Blood started pouring from her mouth, ears, nose and eyes. Michael-san shrieked in horror and caught the girl in her arms. Her brain had imploded from the information overload… His eyes widened in realization. He had killed her.


	46. The Fox and the Hound

_**A/N: I'll just say that this chapter's title is based on the fact that people used to hunt foxes with a special breed of hounds who would enter their burrows and seek them out in general. I hope you like this chapter, it's a … pinch of what Fiona really is. And some other things. Enjoy.**_

Chapter 46

The Fox and the Hound

Leo woke up covered with cold sweat and shivering, taking in deep breaths of air. His heart was racing and he swore he saw a shadow move away in the darkness.

No. That wasn't the scary part.

There was pretty much always that same shadow there which he had dubbed his own personal Ryuk . It hadn't made contact with him yet and Leo himself wasn't about to stoop as low as actually showing any sort of interest towards his friendly roommate of a shadow.

No. The scary part was the nightmare-vision-something that he just had. After a few more calming breaths, his heart rate was back to normal. They were flashes of an overly delirious looking scene of Fiona humming, dancing and giggling. It was pitch black, the only light about her being sort of…there, with no real source. The ground looked like perfectly mowed green grass.

'Here I come and here we go!

Careful what you reap

Because this is what you sow.

I played a trick

And treated was I not

For my crimes, however,

Payment there'll be not.

Nananananana

I lost my marbles

And I found them

And there were winnings

For the losses

And the fox hid in its hole

And the hound never found it

Because it wasn't a hound at all!

Nananananana

I slip

I fall

I die

Nananananana

I breathe again

I live again

With no payments for my crimes

Nananananana…"

All this bloody clairvoyance crap was grinding on his nerves. Not to mention some things scared the living day lights out of him. Bloody Shinigami and bloody stupid moron gods.

With a sigh, Leo went back to sleep, subconsciously reminding himself that Fiona was probably all right and this was just another bloody crappy payback for that 'What do you think I am? Clairvoyant?' comment when he first spoke directly with the Shinigami. Figures he was to pay for his arrogance. And why couldn't he be like Fia? She rarely had to pay for any trespasses and transgressions. Then again, that was a Fiona thing.

888

'Look, I think she's waking up.'

'Fia, can you hear me?'

Everything was so dark and hazy, including her usually rather clear if chaotic mind. She felt herself in some sort of slowmotion-like debuff and she almost had half a mind about going back to the comfortable calm of darkness. Then again she hated hazy and excruciatingly slowly, she fought off the black spots and haziness and the buzzing in her ears.

It felt like her brain was rebooting itself after a major crash. And she was in a hospital. She hated hospitals. They smelled of detergents. Couldn't they use anything less olfactory violating? And why was she in the hospital in the first place? And MJ smells of tears. Yuk. L-chan is stressed. She could practically chew the tension within her poor Leader-chan.

'Muuhphm.' Was Fiona's first sentient response and she sloppily swatted away the hand that was stroking her cheek. Didn't people know she hated things in front of her face and people touching her face? Sheesh. 'Wuuh. Girrof.'

'Thank God you're awake' MJ whispered, clearly overwhelmed by relief.

Fia was still slowly picking up her marbles, trying to figure out why was she in the hospital. Things were kind of blurry and hazy still, but her sense of smell was working perfectly, for her wonderful discomfort.

'Wuh huh.'she mumbled again. Her body was bloody stiff! Even her facial muscles. Almost like that one time she and Leopold tried to see who would make the bigger bubble gum bubble. She was pretty much trying to ask why she was in the hospital, though she was sure that even MJ and L-chan would be having problems deciphering this one.

Wait.

It was kinda coming back to her now. The yellow flash, the deserted forest in nowhere, Amegakure, Pein, Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori and Deidara….Takeshiro-senpai…training. And then it kind of ended there.

So…

Hazy mind and black spots?

Check.

Buzzing in ears?

Check,

Stiffness all over?

Check.

Smelly hospital?

Check.

Weird ass Naruto related adventures?

Check.

'Wuh muh cuhmuh?' Was I in a coma?

'Fia, you need to take it easy, ok?' MJ started delicately, which was kind of weird looking, and the raven-haired girl shared a quick glance with Rose.' I need to call the doctors to tell them you're awake. Don't get excited or anything, ok?'

Ok, so she was in a coma and everything that supposedly happened for months was a coma induced hallucination. What a drag, huh? It felt stupid and her mind was still hazy and it was hard to even concentrate. And she felt so bloody stiff that even if she wanted to move (which she no doubt did) it was so bloody hard and sloppy that it got her even more annoyed. Small tears prickled down the corners of her eyes.

'Hey, it's ok! You'll be fine, I promise.' Rose put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly. ' Try not to overexert yourself. We're here for you, Feefs.'

Rose smiled warmly in a way Fia hadn't seen since Harvard. What had happened there was another story. It was a great thing to have true friends. And Fia felt lucky to have so many of them. To have a sort of family. All of them together. Her second family. Because friends like that were forever. And it was love and understanding that bound them all together.

Bonds.

Pein…

Even though she was now home. A great part of her wished that dream had been real. That those things had really happened. That she had been going every now and then to his office with cup cakes and chocolate chip cookies, and some weird ass exotic French dish, trying to impress him with her awesome house wife skills. Not to mention that time she had glomped him.

Bonds.

And pain.

Couldn't she have been a few more days comatose so that she could've at least professed her undying love for him? The real him. The one whose body was slowly consumed by the great power he was wielding? The longing was killing her.

At first her eyes welled up really fast and then her lower lip started to quiver (as much as it could). And then came the first sob, followed by many more, each more emotional and painful that the last one.

All those months had been a horrible lie. A horrible, wonderful lie, in which she would've wasted away on this bed. A lie she wished to live. A lie far greater that anything else existing so far. The world was a harsh, cold place. And there, in the lie, it was still harsh and cold. But he had been there. Powerful and magnificient, everlasting and unyielding. Majestic.

Nagato.

Her pain…

MJ came back with several doctors to find a troubled Rose trying to calm down an inconsolable Fiona. It made the black-haired girl stiff with something akin to shock, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on her.

Fiona was crying. As in really crying. A few tears now and then, the more than occasional whine and the undignified yelps were something usual. Not to mention the ever-annoying melodramatical cryfest show-downs when her mom would say no to a family trip to Blizz-con.

This she had never seen before. She looked weak and pathetic. She looked powerless, whimpering like that. It was truly heart-wrenching.

'Shh. It's ok, we're here. We won't leave you.'

The doctors had to wait. This was more bloody important. Had it been really that terrifying?

After half an hour or so, Fiona fell asleep, both physically and emotionally exhausted.

'Why do you think she reacted like that? Do you think-?

'I don't know what to think, Rose. She looked terrified and in anguish. I've never seen her like that…'

'I'm not really surprised…considering what happened…'

'What do you mean?'

Rose gave MJ a significant look with her stormy gray ringed eyes.

'What do you think was the last thing she saw? Before…you know…'

MJ gulped.

'Her dying vision was the Wrath of Pein.'

'Bloody hell. She must be…' MJ's eyes widened in realization.

'Boss-man really messed up this time.' Rose quoted a line of Tifa's on a whim. Her expression grim and slightly angry. 'God or not, he has some making up to do.'

It was a tone of finality and the red headed fury stormed off, her strides long and her expression- murderous. MJ followed, irrationally agreeing with her friend. But her subconscious wisely reminded her that 'Hell hath not seen fury like a woman scorned.'.

The Itachi-cosplayer had the feeling that Pein would receive a taste of his own Wrath.

888

Fia woke up again some hour later, surrounded by two doctors and a nurse, who was , disturbingly enough, changing her catheter bag. She felt a lot less hazy, and her muscles were surprisingly more relaxed and less stiff. She began to wonder how much time had passed and tried to keep track of all of her surroundings, which proved to be an impossible task at this point. The sense of wrongness was slowly creeping up in her especially as one doctor was checking something on her carton while the other was preparing a needle… which he promptly injected into one of the tubes.

The panic alarms sounded.

'Wuh was..that?'she mumbled, a lot more coherent than before, her eyes glaring warily at the accused doctor.

'Merely a pain killer. There is no need to worry, Miss Jon-son.'

Shit. The government was onto her. Double shit.

She jerked away surprisingly swiftly, and by surprising, it was really surprising. The Nurse found herself covered in piss after an unfortunate squeezing of the filled up catheter bag.

Fiona was frantically pulling away all those tubes and needles from herself and in that same span of ten seconds (in which the entire ordeal had transpired) she was sloppily sprinting away from the room, in a bareback paper gown, but quickly gaining speed and coherence in movements. Staff and patients alike were shoved, pushed and punched out of her way. She was running like a mad woman possessed. And wouldn't anyone run the hell like that if they thought 'the government was onto them'?

'Miss! Calm down- wait!'

A group of doctors were moving a patient across Fiona's path. That did not stir her momentum, as she determinately placed her hands on the stretcher and hopped over it, legs spread in a side split. The patient, needless to say, was now a very happy man, as he had observed her neatly styled in a trendy triangle…uh… haircut. Uh…yeah, haircut!

That side split would've made MJ proud.

No time to ponder about it, as the government was right behind her. She needed to find a safe house and lay low for a few weeks and try to then locate some of her contacts which would then get her out of the country. She would then go either in Columbia or in Sudan, where she had personal safe houses with supplies and would then try and find out how the officials caught her trail. And she would also try and delete any possible AFC or other affiliates links to herself and her illegal ministrations. It was a simple plan but right now she needed to run like hell.

Finally! The exit.

It was a bloody downpour outside, which made quick work of her paper hospital gown. She turned to one side and sprinted off, not really caring about the particularly alluring nudeness-streaking display she was giving the several unlucky passer byes (unlucky for being caught in the down pour). Fia took the corner and nearly crashed into a man whose hands went up instinctively in defense.

Dubbing him for 'government' she made quick work of him with a 'Falcon Punch' to the kisser and yet again sped off.

888

'-she's a bloody fucking mess right now and it is all because of you, _Pein-sama_!' Rose spat his title. Her vehement fury and her stormy gray eyes fit perfectly with the weather outside, though at the time Nagato had not the chance to think of the weird connection. He was busy fighting both a guilt trip, and three nagging women who were arguing both with him and with each other. And Konan asked why she was the only woman in Akatsuki. Cat fights. Go figure. A woman powerful enough to fit Akatsuki requirements would be a complete and utter menace IF there was more than one woman in Akatsuki. It was one of those things that were mandatory about S-class missing- kunoichi. They were all dangerous bitches with no shit attitude. Konan was no exception. But she cared too much about him and their dream of Akatsuki to be anything else than a hen. So to speak that is.

In animal societies, males fought for female attention. In human ninja societies, women fought for the males. Or at least in the missing-nin circles. If there was only one woman, in this case Konan, then she was the alpha female and all men listened to her, not because she was his partner and second in command, but because there wasn't a sane man who would enjoy the bitching of a bitchy PMSing woman with S-rank on a daily basis.

He wasn't even going to mention the head ache he was having right now, thought that might be partially due to the guilt trip thing and, of course, his own male pride.

Ah, the wonders of the male philosophy on female things males don't understand and the male philosophy on male things females don't understand. Like bromance. And the ritual of bonding over sake in bars.

'Silence.'

All three women shut up and glared at him.

'Fiona is out of the hospital.' Pein ignored their glares expertly. He got those pretty often.

'I told you to stay there, MJ.'

MJ glared at Rose with the 'You so did not.' Look, at which Rose immediately apologised, realizing that in her righteous anger, she had failed to mention anything, and that is how they had left a paranoid, legally guilty and hospital hating person all alone in the hands of the doctors.

'Well, bloody shit.'

888

The city, despite the heavy rain looked familiar. Not to mention that it looked exactly like Amegakure. Things like mindfucking meds came to mind and the doctor to nonchalantly nearly injected her with something.

Was this all one big fucking set up, as she had believed in the start? What about MJ or L-chan? It was so bloody strange. The only appropriate explanation that she had was that she was fed some sort of hallucigenic and MJ and Rose were not really MJ and Rose. This was some major mindfuck.

But who would go through all that trouble? Was this some kind of trick to try and break her to reveal secrets she had stored from governments all over the world. Horror splashed her full force. The Bible! They had the bible. And these people weren't government. What if they were terrorists? And she was in the middle of it all, the cause of the Third World war? Fia felt her head swim dangerously and she had to use the cold wet brick wall for support.

No! She needed to pull the reigns of her paranoia. Chances were they might not be able to open her Bible, especially when it required- shit. She was naked. It was a good time to realize that too, out on the streets, with heavy downpour and stuff. How the hell was she supposed to blend in and hide if she was butt naked? And did she mention her little microchip in the form of a small sun pendant? She was butt naked, as in no pendant as well.

The world can go screw itself. She was outta-

'Ack!' she slipped backwards and fell on her butt, as she almost collided with Pein, who had chosen that particular moment to spot her and land next to her. Her surprise and confusion lasted only several milliseconds, as her facial features turned into an outraged murderous scowl. In the next moment, she was back on her feet, adrenaline pumping and ready to power her possible final stand. This just had to be the works of the bloody hallucigenic.

'You are not real.' She hissed dangerously, making Pein's eyes narrow into slits.

Pein was definitely not expecting this. It was yet another surprise, and to be honest, he was not a fan of surprises. This was definitely the same cheerful wacky Fiona who kept creating chaos to his chagrin, and managed to be impossibly cute on the occasions in which he was very close to ordering her to an isolation chamber. As a ninja, he had the experience to tell when one had more potential than they were showing. Indeed, it was the same Fiona, possibly pushed to the very limits of her not very sane psyche.

And she was wet, naked and ready to claw out whatever her hands could get to. Her tanned skin was marred only by the single white scar line just below her ample erect breasts on the right side of her chest. Her cheeks were flushed with the adrenaline rush and he could clearly see the outlines of her powerful leg muscles.

But what really grabbed his attention were her eyes. Her piercing blue eyes which glared at him with all that she was worth. She would not back down. She would never give up. She would keep going for as long as she could take breath. Passionate conviction, stamina and the majestic fury of a lioness all gathered into one hot, incinerating hateful glare.

'You do not exist. You are not what I see. So back off or I will fucking kill you.' She hissed again.

He took a step forward.

'I have no idea how long this mindfuck has been going on, but this ends now. This. Ends. Now. You hear me, you bastard? I might kill you swiftly if you tell me where my friends are, though.' She gave a sinister humorless chuckle.' I hate it when people hurt my friends, you see. And I especially hate people like you, who think they can get away with this. Nobody gets away with anything when I say so.'

Pein took another step forward, his face unreadable and his eyes never leaving hers.

'I commend you on the absurd plan though. I was so smitten with the idea of me in this fictional world; I failed to notice what was going on in reality. But I figured it out, you see? And I will fucking _destroy _you for what you did.'

She suddenly charged forward only to be pinned to the wall by Pein's lightning reflexes. And even so, she still kept struggling against his grasp, trying to free herself, to harm him.

'You're coming with me back to the office. You are delirious and not in the right state of mind.'

'Let me go, you sick excuse for a fuck!' she growled, and he could feel her hot breath on his skin.

'You will calm down or I will take you by force.' His voice and facial expression were both emotionless, but his eyes were examining her delicate plumb lips which were scrunched up in a dangerous snarl, revealing rather sharp looking teeth and slightly pronounced canines.

He was holding her by the wrists with both hands and her chest was pinned against his, as were her legs against his. He could feel every intake of breath and her erratic heartbeat. She was still pulling and convulsing, and struggling in attempt to free herself. She wasn't like Jessica and Rose. Not by far. While they were furies who cut up in their anger with clean, deep cuts, Fiona was far more chaotic, far more wild. Fiona was not a fury, he realized in that single moment, fascinated by her tenacity, so akin to Yahiko's, that she was a tempest, a real hurricane. Pure, wanton destruction. It did not aim to hurt. It aimed to obliterate, for it could not settle for less.

At that particular moment, Fiona chose to slam her forehead against his, in which he released his hold on her. Instead of running away, which would've been the most obvious choice when he was involved, she defiantly tried to punch him to which he reacted with grabbing her into a hold, her back against his chest.

'I have to other choice.' He stated calmly.

Something pinched her on the neck and the last thing she remembered was how warm him embrace was. Darkness consumed her and she fell limp in his hands.


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

**Subterfuge is the finest art**

She was pretty much all alone when she woke up in a familiar looking office. She was lying on a sofa with something covering her bare skin. Fiona groggily looked around her and registered the Akatsuki cloak on top of her. The naked blonde sat up and put the cloak on, while nonchalantly and confusingly looking around. In reality, she was making sure not to end up naked again, while scoping the area for possible escape routes or any signs of danger, or both. Subconsciously she registered that the cloak was 4 sizes too big for her, even when considering the size of her chest. And it smelled nice. The scent of pine needles and rain. It was still raining outside though, but not as much as it was when she was last conscious.

She didn't wonder where she was. She knew the office well enough. She was in Pein's office and she could still see the bowl with cookies (now only a third full) which she gave him…Fia made a grimace. When did she ever give him cookies? More specifically, the cookies made with her grandma's super-secret old Brazilian family traditional cookie dough recipe. Those were a pretty special batch which she only gave out on… What was the date again?

Speaking of dates,(the time kind, not the fruit kind :D), the Narutoverse and the real world were mismatched by what seemed to be several months. When they first arrived it had been April in the Real world, while here had been the end of September at the time.

Not really wanting to pass as the thoughtful kind at the moment, Fia shrugged and went to get some of those cookies. She was hungry too and she ended up eating them all, which wasn't that much. By Fia standards. 15 cookies.

It was hard for her at times. In fact, it was hard for them all. The gals and her. Rose probably handled it best. MJ was mostly withdrawn, and she herself was experiencing those nervous bouts of hyperactivity, which she did her best to play off as the need to do mischievous things. It wasn't just…being here. It was the lack of contact with their friends and family. They never talked about it. With so much surveillance even meaningful looks were dangerous. The occasional comment in English would slip from time to time, but nothing dangerous, or so they hoped. No one knew English in this world…if this was a different world at all and not a hoax. She gripped at the sleeves of the Akatsuki cloak. The material was sturdy and a bit hoarse to her delicate fingers but it was perfect for most of the things weather would dish out. Despite trying her best to refrain herself from showing any worry or thought process, her delicate golden brows knitted together as she tried to remember anything from the period between now, and what she believed was several days ago. Was it really several days ago?

The more important question, however, was why she had no memory of that gap in her mind. Did she hit her head? Oh yes, she remembered now. The hospital. A cold shiver ran down her spine. No, she definitely wouldn't dwell on that lest she starts jumping and squealing in horror. She would much rather concentrate on…what should she concentrate on?

There was a wooden Asian shelf which appeared to be obligatory in some form in an luxurious office. There was probably some sake in it. Behind her there was that top to bottom big ass window with the marvelous view of what was now stormy Ame. And the three awesome chairs from the manga, which she had hoarded the first time she went in Pein's office. The memory brought a smile on her face. She could see it in front of her, just the way it happened, with Konan's outraged expression. As strange as it seemed, Konan was not someone they saw often. Her presence was fleeting, as she was probably tending to either Nagato or his documents. What stuck with Fia, however, was how much Konan looked like Malena. But her delicate pale face was cold and her cherry wood brown eyes were hard and unfeeling, glinting with the emotional scars she would carry for the rest of her life. Malena was one of the few sweethearts she would actually refer to as a real mother. As strange as it was to outsiders, Fia had never found her own mother to be the motherly type. Her parents were always busy and she never found time to bond with them. In the end she gave up. Still, her soft, blue tresses of hair were the exact same shade of blue as Malena's dyed hair. And they both had the same facial features.

Malena had always been passionate and gentle and loving. And while Konan was also just as loving, she could never match Malena's outstandingly pure heart and devotion. It was different.

And here Fiona found herself musing over how much better Malena was in comparison with Konan. Malena had two lovely children. She was always happy and ever the attentive mother and host. Little Vincent was a jewel and his big black shiny eyes were exactly like his mothers, both in color and in shape. He had his father's complexion, as it was soft and pale, very atypical for a Spaniard.

The thought of them brought more and different thoughts. Ones of home, of Earth, of how pretty Paris was during autumn, of how at this time of the year she should've been at school, sitting next to Leopold and generally having the time of her life with all of her precious people. Instead she was here, a place either real or illusionary, where she had everything she ever wanted, right within her reach. Her calm, dreamy expression had slowly shifted into one of grave concentration and deep contemplation. Oh so very slowly, these thoughts and musings turned into an inner dialogue with her friends- an apology for all the wrongs she ever did to them. It felt appropriate to her, as she had the distinct feeling it would be some time before she ever sees them again. And in her definition, some time could be as short as a millisecond or as long as the span of the universe. It was one of those things that she wanted them to remain undefined and flexible, for the sake of the remaining shreds of sanity.

She felt cold and she hugged herself, rubbing her arms, feeling the soft scent, his scent, lingering on her skin and making her heart skip every time she took a breath. A lone tear made its way down her cheek and onto the Akatsuki cloak. She felt so lost and alone, in a very, very different way than before. Her brain was a wreck of high speed thought processes and ideas randomly popping and going, she herself not really comprehending most of it consciously, as it has always been. In a way, she felt the weight of the world simply drop on her shoulders, and she felt the need to keep that weight, instead of tricking someone else into having it.

Had she changed? What had changed within her. Something had happened to make her…different, in a way. Wiser. Greater than the world she was currently holding, and at the same time infinitely times smaller than it. A revelation of some sort? Maybe. But even if she had no idea what it was, it made her feel as if she was finally ready to face the world outside. To fight it, to rebel against it, to destroy it, heal it…whatever. She was ready to grin in spite of everything and she was ready to puff her chest proudly and strut down the lane of life, declaring her presence and grandeur to all those who saw her. She was ready to be strong again. And maybe, just maybe, she was ready to lead.

But first, she had to button up the damn Akatsuki cloak. She may be an attention whore but she was never, ever, a cheap attention whore.

*****888*****

'The sleeper has awakened!' a strong, cheerful voice boomed through the ongoing argument. The argument was abruptly cut short, as three females and...wait.

'There are so many of him!' Fiona hushed, star-struck by the mere sight and with wavering breaths and eyelids, she collapsed on the ground, overwhelmed by the awesomeness of what was the Six Paths of Pein. So much for striking a pose and playing off whatever was there to play off and then get back to the daily grind. Some things never changed, it seemed.

The three women, seemingly all deeply aggravated by the girl's extravagant actions, decided to simultaneously glare at said blonde. Then, their actions differed.

'Pathetic.' Konan stated with distaste and left, after giving Pein a significant look, clearly showing her opinion that this was entirely a waste of time and resources.

Jessica slapped her forehead in aggravation as soon as Konan had left the inner office and L-chan merely went over to poke Fiona awake.

Two vivid azure sapphires fluttered open and locked with the ringed grey eyes of Rose. There was a content feeling permeating her senses, radiating from her red headed friend, which awfully reminded her like the scent of freshly baked cookies or some sort of sweet bread. That scent also carried the warmth of the feeling, making the girl smile at her senior. Rose smiled back and helped Fia back to her feet. As she stepped aside to let her blonde friend walk ahead, the cheerful bimbo froze in place and yet again stared at the Pein compilation before her with a dreamy look.

MJ, knowing exactly what Fia was thinking, promptly strode by her and hit her at the back of her head, making her yelp indignantly.

'Hey!'

'Staring is impolite.'

'But…but!'

'No buts.'

Pein half expected for her to say something that was negative in some way. She tended to react weirdly to shocking things, however, and as such, he also kept that fact in mind as well.

'Leader-sama, you are so awesome!'

'Hn.'

Rose and MJ simultaneously sighed. This wasn't just embarrassing. Why was she playing the dumbfounded card when Konan was just busy telling them off for being so suspicious. As if Pein himself didn't know. Rose probably knew him best, given that MJ had noticed how she acted around him, with a certain note of comfort, in a way one would act with someone who had spent a lot of time with them… Of course, despite how much Rose had denied it, it was impossible for someone trained in the Martial arts not to notice that her figure was a bit more fit than it already was, her motions were slightly more fluid and not to mention that certain –ish feeling about her, that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up sometimes, especially when she concentrated on molding chakra. It was that intense feeling of 'Wow, she has a lot of chakra.' Or this was what MJ interpreted it as. She probably trained with Pein in some way. There was no way she, Michael Jessica Keats, would not notice the patterns of her daily life, even if both her and Fia spent time outside their apartments during the day, doing their own things and not spending time in the vicinity of each other.

Funny, really, now that she thought about it, yet again – Fia had been right all along. Subterfuge was the finest art of them all, as all of them practiced it shamelessly and paid no heed to those around them, for the sake of prolonged sense of comfort. The illusion that everything was alright. Had they been playing the pretending game for so long? Of course they had, otherwise they would've noticed something was off on the spot. They were going native.

MJ's crystal blue eyes turned to her other companion. Despite how cheerful she appeared to be, it was impossible not to notice the slight tenseness of her high-pitched exclamations, nor how rigid her muscles were. But that could be blamed on other things as well. Like her recent coma. Jessica's eyes slightly knitted together. She was rigid, but her motions were fluid, even if cutely clumsy. Fia had this healing factor going on for quite some time, and the severer the injury, the faster she appeared to heal. But up until now, no one had seemed to notice. Ninja's tended to have a faster healing rate due to their over-developed charka systems. Fia was, however, healing like a rapid monkey, taking steroids every Friday and Tuesday. Now, after she had died and risen from the dead, as if nothing had happened, everyone who knew what had actually happened, acted as if she was extremely valuable. Even Kakuzu and Hidan had visited her the other day, some hour after they had returned from whatever mission they had been on. Admittedly, they were far more distraught by the lack of home cooked food than her accident, but they were also quite fascinated (Kakuzu) and pleased (Hidan) by what had transpired. She would remember that 'Jashin-sama approves' comment for the rest of her life. After all, Hidan had never looked so ridiculously serious, mature and sophisticated in the months MJ had gotten to know him. Kakuzu even had the sense to look appropriately aghast with shock, for the whole of 2 seconds, and that being behind Hidan's back. He would never let him live it down otherwise.

And it was here, that MJ turned to glance at Pein, the Deva Path, whose face was completely calm and devoid of all emotion as always. He was completely unreadable. His breathing, the movement of his eyes, absolute lack of twitches, fidgeting and unnecessary motions what so ever. Zilch. This was what they taught at ninja school. He had the best damn poker face that she had ever seen, and considering her passion for poker, that was saying something.

Still, there was that little 'Hn.' He had muttered earlier. It was a form of acknowledgement, the least. Something, that MJ hoped with the entirety of her heart, was his way of expressing at least a minute bit of fondness for them and their antics. After all, it wasn't like they hadn't spent so many months with them around to begin with.

For all of the things that had happened thus far, ever since they had arrived in this strange ninja world, MJ had always felt the constant nagging of her innermost fears. As of lately, her fears had been exponentially gnawing harder on her consciousness. She felt a tide of coldness rising and threatening to splash right into her. She feared the appearance of Madara. And most of all, she feared the events and complications such a thing might cause in the foreseeable future.

Once again, MJ concentrated on the event at hand, namely Fia spasming all over the six paths of Pein. As per usual, the deva path was in the front. The animal, preta and human paths were to his left, and MJ noted the unhealthy interest with which Fiona was taking in their appearances. The asura and nakara path were to his right. To be honest, the only path MJ, and probably Fiona and Rose as well, that she felt morbidly repulsed by the sight of …well, it as it is a corpse, basically, which yet again brought about Fia's disturbingly close to necrophilia behavior. Those were, after all, corpses. Reanimated, living, chakra infused, piercing-covered, (mostly) sexy corpses. Then again Fiona was a disturbingly demented, if amazingly prodigious, mad scientist of a megalomaniac. That was probably the most accurate description of her best friend's psychological state.

'Fiona, staring is rude.' She chasticed the blonde as a final attempt to prevent her from drooling all over Pein.

'Jessica, does she look like she cares?' Rose shook her head helplessly and patted the bimbo next to her.

'No, she doesn't.' MJ tapped her foot for some 30 seconds before deciding it had passed enough time and she took action once again. 'Pain-sama, please ignore her, she's obviously having a blonde moment.'

'What were we talking before we got…interrupted?' Rose took the lead in continuing whatever conversation they had been having before Konan (and not Fiona) had interrupted. Fiona had merely stumbled upon Konan's argument with Rose and MJ.

To be honest, Fiona's gears had probably already turned and she had come to the most logical and de facto the right conclusion as to why Konan apparently hated their guts. The blue haired woman simply abhorred their presence due to the mere fact Pein was actually trying to help them out and was setting aside resourses for them. Either that or she simply did not agree to have them, the outsiders, as a potential pet project of Pein's.

'I believe it was Fiona-san's irrational bouts of paranoia and Deidara's disappearance. I have yet to hear a word from him and I am certain that I know who is responsible for this peculiar occurance.'

If there was one thing a person had to know about Deidara, it was that he was probably the most punctual ninja among the entire Akatsuki bunch. The hot tempered explosives prodigy was also the most normal among the Akatsuki, if one could call his bordering the suicidal explosives mania normal. Now, ever since the whole prank-a-thon, Pein had received exactly 34 complaints from Sasori that Deidara was completely and utterly missing. Sasori had also shared the fact that his apartment looked a bit more like a battlefield than usual and there was also the presence of a single pink ribbon that had tipped him off that one of the Fiona clones had probably gotten the Akatsuki. Given what it took to fix the entire mess that had been created in Ame, Pein simply had to say that the girl had superb trap making skills and was probably a better schemer than the Supreme Old Fart himself – Madara. But she just lacked the proper goals in life. She feverently strived to be an annoyance, a thorn in the foot of life. One that you couldn't just …bring yourself to remove.

_**T**_**o be continued…**


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

_**Sometimes…the truth shall set you free…**_

Finally, Pein spoke. His voice was calm and emotionless as always and his cold expression was scanning them all in turn.

'You have been here for almost 6 months. Your behavior ranged from almost submissive to downright rebellious and you have cost me more resources than I believed you were actually worth. You hide secrets that would have had you otherwise completely locked in the Interrogation and Torture Department and to top it all off, you had the gall to make one of my best ninja disappear into thin air. I want each of you to tell me why do you think I shouldn't just kill you on the spot.'

There wasn't anger in his words no anything at all which they could use as a hint in what direction they should go. Rose looked at her fellow girls and realized that it wasn't 'funny' anymore. Tifa, probably the only person close to her age group in the AFC, used to say that it was all fun and games until someone got hurt and then everyone would start crying. They weren't ninja. And even for having spent 6 months in this Japanese society, they still stuck out like sore thumbs with their foreign accents, their mannerisms and most of all… their lack of discipline.

The ninja world was one of Feudal type of organization. Countries like Rain were one of the few without a Feudal Lord mainly because Hanzou of the Salamander was the local dictator. Or used to be. Despite having quite a comfortable way of life within Ame itself, it was quite obvious that there had been a mass genocide recently. Children were scarce and it was only as of recently that they saw the occasional baby or two. Apart from down town and the industrial sector of the village, Amegakure was thin on populace. There was still apprehension among the normal folk. They were terrified of the bulk of ninja, but did their best to hide it, because they had to feed their families somehow.

Justifiably or not, Pein had killed many people, both ninja and civilians. For good or bad, prosperity or damnation, he was now the leader of Amegakure and finally, after so many wars and so many misfortunes, the village was regaining some of its stability. The cost, however, had been blood. A lot of it. And if Rose knew one thing, it was that remaining quiet or avoiding in any way Pein's request would amount to a suicide wish. He wants to know why he shouldn't kill them? Apart from the obvious 'We want to live'…Nagato always asked the hardest questions.

Rose closed her eyes, shook her head slightly and let out a sigh. It was time to practice what she studied for so many years to do.

'Pein-sama.' All six of him turned to stare intently at her, but despite how terrifying that was, she remained as calm as possible and continued. 'You won't kill me because I am like you and we share the same blood. For all we know we might be cousins. But what you said was true. We do have secrets-close your mouth Fiona- and those secrets do not concern in any way Amegakure or your plans. Our home is so far away from the Elemental countries that it doesn't even exist on your map. And, as I have told you a thousand times, we simply appeared. We didn't even know that we weren't on home turf until your ninja found us hiding from the rain. I will not beg you for anything, Leader-sama for there is no point to do that. But please bear in mind that despite how long we spent here, we are still people with our own culture. For that, and the way our cultures clash, I can only apologize. I am aware that our lack of discipline is shameful. I am aware that we are making slow progress despite how well we are doing and I am also aware that one of your men is missing. But for all that my words are worth, we have no choice but to stay here and do your bidding to the best of our current ability. We don't have…anywhere else to go, nor do we have any idea how to go home.'

He was silent for a minute, probably dissecting her impromptu speech, though he did not express it in any way. Fiona was just standing there looking lightning-struck still, but Rose believed she was just buying time for whatever scheme and opportunities were brewing in her genius mind. She was almost like a deer caught by head-lights, if only her eyes didn't shimmer so traitorously, so warily.

Jessica looked every bit alarmed, even if her lower jaw was clenched tightly with the effort to keep up her composure. Her body was rigid and her muscles were flexing slowly, ready to spring into action if the need arises. Though all three knew that any sort of resistance was futile. They could be dead in the matter of nanoseconds if he so willed it.

Rose caught Fiona's gaze and she nodded slightly, showing that she was ready with her answer.

'All three of us are a valuable resourse to you, Leader-sama, and you know it. You know that we have the potential, otherwise you would've never agreed to take us under your wing in the first place. I don't doubt any decision you make, Leader-sama, because I know that ultimately it would be the right one. And as for constantly having to change our senseis…It was totally my fault, sir, I swear! I just can't keep myself from the occasional jab here and there! And if it's because of Mariko-sensei I swear it was an honest to God accident! I had spilled the liquid soap the other night and she just slipped on it in the bathroom! I was going to clean it up but I totally forgot! I am really sorry about that! I will make you my family's best cookies ever…which reminds me, where did you get the cookies that I ate in your office? They are suspiciously…familiar…'

A more perfect moment for her to pout thoughtfully probably didn't exist. But the actual confusion that shone in her eyes nagged at Rose. Then again, Fiona was a master of subterfuge and it wasn't surprising at all.

'Anyways, don't mix them up with my booboo's, Leader sama! I've always been a naughty girl and my mom constantly threatened me with confiscating all of my goodies-'

'Fia, what date is it today?' MJ suddenly asked her, too calmly and pleasantly to be natural.

'…'

'Fiona?'

'I don't know.'

Finally, an expression appeared on the Deva's path's face. Curiosity.

Rose understood.

'She doesn't remember.' The red haired woman mouthed soundlessly to herself, but Pein's eyes darted to her, all six pairs of them, acknowledging her statement.

'What's the last thing you remember, Fia?' Rose asked, concern clearly present in her voice.

'Why? Did something happen?' The blonde's eyes darted from one person to the other, trying to discern what was going on. 'Mariko-sensei's all right…right? The doctor's said no permanent damage…Did I hit my head? Is Sasori-Danna all right? I knew that my plans for making nitroglycerin were stupid! I probably blew up Danna's workshop! How will I look at him in the eye now!' She clapped her hands on the sides of her face, her expression stilled in utter horror.' I know what happened! I blew up Sasori Danna's worship and he will never forgive me! He's probably dead too! You said something about a missing person! Oooooh! Danna! I am so sorry!'

At this point she fell on her knees, wailing like the remorseful banshee that she was dramatically imitating, all the grief of the world dripping from her shaking shoulders and bleeding mournful heart. The scene was so surrealistic, in its sincerity and obnoxiousness, that neither MJ nor Rose, not to mention none of Pein's six paths, wanted to have anything to do with it. Then again MJ was more concerned that Fia's French virgin bits were showing and that there were seven awfully strong men in the room, and it was just that bloody inappropriate and downright embarrassing.

'Fia…Sasori is alright.'

Sudennly, the girl stopped crying and looked at MJ with the most disturbingly hopeful hysterical expression she hadn't seen anyone using in a very long time.

'Really?'

MJ sighed and patted her friend's blond head, similar to a puppy.

'Yes, really.' Jessica tried to smile, but in Rose's opinion it was more of a cringe. 'Cross my small black heart and hope to die.'

Fia started crying once again, this time in gratitude, her lower lip quivering, her rosy red puffed up cheeks shiny from the tears she shed and her eyes shimmering like the Pacific Ocean on a sunny summer Sunday in Los Angeles.

MJ sighed, as she felt Fia's strong arms crushing her knees in a tight awkward embrace.

'Thank the Lord, God Almighty for small miracles! He probably hates me, but I don't care! I'm just happy he is all right!' she sniffed and continued crying obnoxiously, making MJ do a disgusted expression, as the blonde was soaking her pants with snot, drool and tears.

All in all, Rose had to give it to Pein for his patience. Who else would let such a stupid thing happen in their office. If she had to consider what just happened, she would go with the option, concerning Fia's amnesty due to her apparent amnesia (which was yet to be proved). Furthermore, the scene Fiona was causing was buying them precious time.

'Fia, no one got blown up! You didn't blow up anything. Please just tell us what's the last thing you remember!'

Rose had gotten on her knees and was now shaking Fiona out of her cryfest. The girl wiped her face with the back of her hands and then sniffed a few times, trying to calm herself in the up most impossibly cute way she could muster.

After a minute or so, she was 'composed' enough to act seriously and to look like what she was actually thinking on the inside. It wasn't that Fiona faked all of it. She just let her emotions run wild and chaotic, to give herself time to process the information she was given and to think of according ways to act in such a situation. It was always like that with her. That, and they knew Pein's psychological profile well enough and not to mention they got to know him personally, so to speak, after having to talk to him on a weekly basis for almost 6 months.

'I think it was the med nin carrying out Mariko-sensei…but that's obviously before getting myself in the hospital which is before me running away from the hospital and that is before being knocked out while being stark naked and in front of Pein-sama, who was in fact responsible for me being knocked out. I don't even have a kink in the neck! You are really good at knocking out people, Pein-sama!'

'Fia…that was more than two weeks ago.' Rose started delicately, but stopped when she saw the frustration in Fiona's eyes.

'What are you playing at?' there was anger in her voice. 'People just don't simply forget 2 weeks of their lives. I, for example, still remember what color were my panties when I was four years old and they had dinosaurs and butterflies on them and white lace! I get it if I bumped my head and forgot what caused it, but damn….two freaking weeks! You gotta be FUCKING kidding me!'

She stood up and paced about the room, her hands occasionally brushing through her hair nervously, as she did when she felt incredibly insecure and tried to retain her sense of stability.

'I know that's not the last bloody thing. I can bloody see it _there_. I just cant….URGH!'

'Fiona! Calm down, you will have a panic attack if you keep this up!'

'I AM ALREADY IN A PANIC ATTACK!'

'Silence.'

All three stilled at Pein's voice.

'I will give you one more chance. Don't screw up.' The girls looked at each other and then back at Pein. What was he….why…why was he simply letting them go? 'You are free to go. But you will come back with a full report in a week. Fiona, go to the hospital for a check up. Jessica, Rose, make sure she does not make any more scenes than she already has. Dismissed.'

The three nodded silently and went to the door intending to leave the office. MJ went last, but before she left, she turned to Pein.

'Pein-sama. About your question. I did not get a chance to answer it. You have every reason to kill us on the spot. But yet you didn't. Thank you, sir.'

And with that, she left him to his own devises. It would be several hours later when he would finally let go of his musings. Today, he had learned one thing, and was reminded of another. Rose was a defender, she made sure any form of damage would be mitigated in the best possible way. She reminded him of Konan, in a way. Always looking out for Yahiko and himself. Fiona reminded him of Yahiko- she was just as ready to sacrifice herself for her family as he was for them. He missed Yahiko. And Jessica…she was not like him. But she reminded him of a very controversial person, who had helped them long ago, even when no one else, not even his team mates, would help them. His name was Jiraya, and he used to be their sensei. No matter how goofy or perverted the man was, he had always had that sense of objectiveness that had helped him become the legendary Toad Hermit. Jessica possessed exactly the same trait. She, among them all, reminded him why he wanted to become a ninja in the first place – to bring back justice to Amegakure. All in all, today Nagato learned one thing- that he could not find it in himself to kill them, because they reminded himself too much of that past where they had dreams and hopes, brighter that the sunshine after a heavy downpour. He missed that past.

**LINELINELINE**

'We played him like a violin.' Fiona finally stated, her voice completely serious, a hard glare marring her face. 'We played the bloody God of Rain, like a kiddy violin. Pulled at his strings like the puppet masters that we aren't.'

She was not happy with what they had done. And MJ and L-chan remained relatively silent. The blonde had a bit too much on her plate, and she was close to spewing acid in the near future. Despite having the sense of wrong of…let's say the of the Spanish inquisition and the sense of right of the Lich King from Blizzard Entertainment's super popular Warcraft Universe, she was still a person with a moderately good judgment. That and she adored Pain like nothing else in the world. She was feeling incredibly angry. But not at MJ or L-chan. She was angry with herself for letting themselves play Pein like that. He might be the ultimate god of ninja-hood, but they knew all the kinks and quirks of his character and that was enough to at least save themselves from imminent death.

'We had no other choice, Fia.' Rose spoke softly.

'We always have a choice. Even death is a choice better than what we did. I feel disgusted with myself. Did you have to play the Rinnegan card, L-chan? It's probably the only thing to have kept us alive so far. Imagine that losing ground. Imagine the one and only undead super old fart this side of the galaxy showing up suddenly and going on and on about being a good boy while plotting the use of our uniqueness with the expertise of a veteran politician. Now imagine that really happening and what could've happened if Pein still considered your Rinnegan as precious as the sun above us. That's right! He won't tell him. Everyone needs a back-up plan, Rose. Everyone needs a hidden ace. And since Pein never really hid anything from the M-dude, said M-dude won't suspect anything and we will be safe.'

Fia shuddered, probably imagining one horrid scenario or the other. Whatever the case, however, her tone was sharp and her words sounded as if a grown-up was explaining something to a child, in an exasperated way so that the child would finally understand. Despite Fia's attempts to uproot that habit from herself, she still occasionally did it, not really realizing she was patronizing those about her. Rose and MJ did not say anything. Considering the aggressive way the girl was using to get to the hospital, it was probably better than to try and negotiate anything with her. She would cool down by the time she got to the hospital.

Some 20 minutes later, one Fiona Johnson entered the hospital with the gentleness of the looming hurricane of the century. Her glare was like an intense blue flame. The physical over all exam was nothing special, save for the complete lack of any kind of wound on Fiona and the doctor's amazement at how fast she recovered. After getting dressed in her usual clothes she packed the rest of her things along with Pein's Akatsuki cloak (she would probably sleep with that under her pillow). Fiona's bad mood persisted almost all the way back to their appartments. As soon as she got there, she opened the door to her own apartment with and threw her handbag to the side of the door.

And then…

She blinked.

'Hidan-sempai? Kakuzu-sempai?' she started, her bad mood evaporating almost instantly. It was always nice to see someone after their long absence. Plus it was not host-like to glare at one's guests. Even if they had barged in her home. 'What a pleasant surprise! When did you come back from your mission?'

She looked at MJ and Rose quickly, attempting to assure herself that she was saying the right thing, given that a hundred things could happen in less than a second and she reasoned that 2 weeks is enough time to even destroy the world.

'Bout time you bitches showed up!' Hidan (obviously) exclaimed. He was curiously wearing nothing but his white and light blue striped underwear which MJ had given him, desperate to save the furniture from his (potentially) dirty stark naked ass. 'I've been waiting for half an hour here to get some food!'

'Half an hour, Hidan-sempai?' L-chan questioned with surprise while stealing an incredulous look at Kakuzu. How the hell did Kakuzu managed that long to…never mind. L-chan refused to think upon the possibility of a patient Kakuzu.

'Damn straight it was Half a fucking Jashin-damned bloody arsehole of an hour!'

Kakuzu eyed Hidan with all the desire to rip his head off but somehow restrained himself.

'Ne! You need food, Hidan-sempai! And Kakuzu-sempai! Look at you! You lost weight. You need to eat more! That's why I will make something special for you guys! I will make something filling and yummy for your hungry and deserving S-class missing ninja tummies!'

'Damn straight you will, bitch. I am hungry!'

'Aye-aye, Hidan-sempai!' Fia mock-saluted the silver-haired Jashinist.

'Enough with the rhymes already, will ya?'

Fia laughed nervously at Kakuzu's annoyed tone and darted at warp speed into the kitchen.

'Actually, Hidan and I just got back from the mission. We saw you hurrying over to the hospital with Fiona wearing nothing but an Akatsuki cloak and we decided to follow you.'

'Fia had a minor accident a few days ago and she had to stay at the hospital. She woke up and freaked out. That's about it, Kakuzu-sempai.' MJ supplied to the old ninja.

'Hey! My life may suck bull balls but my kitchen is perfect!' Fiona squealed from her kitchen which was followed by several happy/ delirious giggles and then some Italian singing.

'Food, woman! No singing!' Hidan yelled in her direction and then returned to watching television, his pose perfectly slouched and his hands behind his head. He was naked, safe for the underwear that MJ had bought him. Speaking of which…

'Hidan-sempai, where are your clothes?' MJ asked pleasantly.

'Over there, bitch.'

'Okay.'

Rose's eyes immediately followed MJ's short trek to the bathroom.

_***Flashback***_

'Hidan-sempai.'

'What is it, bitch?'

'I just wanted to tell you the next time you leave your dirty clothes like this for me to wash I will dowse them with sake and set them on fire. Thank you for your understanding.'

'Whatever.' And Hidan continued wolfing down the goopy carbonara Fiona had made him. Apparently he had an exceptional appetite for Italian Food. Then again, he had an exceptional appetite for anything Fia would cook for him.

_***End of Flashback***_

'Rose! Come give me a hand with the table please!'

'I'm coming!' Yelled back L-chan and she went into the kitchen.

Fia handed her a pure white fresh table cloth that smelled of wild flowers and went after her with the needed dishes and cutlery to set the table. It was almost a typical scene in Fia's apartment, if the events as of recent could be disregarded. And Hidan was _almost _boyishly sheepish with his eagerness to eat Fia's cooking. Rose knew that one of the few ways to really kill Hidan was through starvation. She suspected however that Hidan probably had some sort of minor crush for Fia, even if he didn't realize it.

She should keep an eye on him, just in case. Maybe even warn Pein.

'Salad's almost ready, folks! Don't worry, Hidan-senpai! Your bacon'n'eggs are almost done as well and I've started making the dough for the pizza!'

It was almost remarkable how quickly Fia seemed to change moods like a hooker changing men. But the outside was always something that she used to cover up the inside. Fia needed time and that was what she would get.

Rose noticed MJ passing through the kitchen and heading back into the bathroom, carrying a small bottle with sake.

'Oi! Give us some of that!' Hidan yelled obnoxiously again, this time aimed at MJ, and waved the small cup the blonde had just placed before him.

'Of course, Hidan-senpai!' she said pleasantly and poured sake for Hidan and then for Kakuzu, who had placed himself furthest from Hidan's spot on the table. The man seemed content for now but all three of them kept an eye out just in case the tentacle expert snapped. It was threading on thin ice.

Then there were those moments Hidan laughed like a maniac. If only Fia didn't start laughing as well…like the maniac she is. When prodded about it she usually said his laugh was contagious. That probably had won her plenty of brownie points with the religious swearing schizophrenic.

'Do you smell something?' Kakuzu suddenly started sniffing the air. 'Smells like…something burning.'

'That ain't coming from me!' Fiona yelled indignantly, which surprised Rose as Kakuzu had barely whispered.

At that particular moment MJ turned up, looking completely innocent. Too innocent.

'MJ, did you do something?'

MJ sipped from her tea.

'MJ.'

Jessica merely leaned to one side and looked at the joint balcony which had entry to both the bathroom and the Living room. There was a big tin bucket, stuffed to the brim with clothes. Hidan's clothes. And it had been set on fire. Rose followed MJ's gaze only to have her lower jaw unhinge itself in horror.

'Michael, you didn't.'

'I think that I stated my intentions last time quite clearly.'

Hidan, as well as Kakuzu looked at the direction of the balcony.

'WHY YOU FUCKING-'

'Woopsie!'

'BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!'

In the span of 3 seconds Hidan nearly lost it at the sight of his burning clothes, Fia 'accidentally' lost control of the Pizza dough she was twirling and it hit Hidan square in the face, effectively silencing him, all the while Kakuzu laughed his ass off at the whole situation. Just as Hidan was ready to erupt, Fia made a tactful appearance, with the top two buttons of her cotton shirt being undone, and her chest looking extra puffed out for effect.

'Nyaa! So sorry, Hidan-senpai!' she squealed cutely and carefully removed the pizza dough from his face with one hand, while her other hand was placed below her breasts, innocently puffing them up even further. Hidan found himself being un-pizza-dough'd to come face to face with her chest-twins. He had promptly shut up before any actual had begun at all, which earned her brownie points with the ever cheap Kakuzu.

The next 20 or so minutes in which two pizza's were already soon to be done and taken out from the oven, someone knocked on the balcony's glass door.

'Itachi-sensei?' MJ mumbled, taken by surprise and went slowly to open the door. 'Konbanwa Gozaimasu, Itachi-sensei. Would you like to stay for dinner? It's almost ready.' She bowed politely, while her heart couldn't decide whether it liked its new location in her throat or wanted to split up and go in her ears. He looked completely, non-chalantly emotionless and did not say anything immediately. He did spare the still fuming bucket a glance or two.

'Hn. Good Evening to you as well, Jessica-chan.' Itachi stepped inside, where he saw Rose, Hidan and Kakuzu staring at him silently, and Fiona poking her head from the kitchen. There was a bit of flour on the top of her head. Other that, she looked completely and utterly confused and it was almost as if she was seeing him for the first time.

'MJ, is there something I need to know?' she asked loudly, while not tearing her eyes from him. Her intense gaze unnerved the Uchiha, as it had been a while since anyone dared to hold his Sharingan-marred gaze. She seemed completely unfazed by his swirling tomoes. He did not look any different, as good ninjas hid their emotions.

'Tche, you're Uchiha Itachi, aren't you?' she asked, almost casually, her curiosity taking the better of her. At this point Itachi was almost completely certain she was mocking him. His eyes narrowed oh so microscopically at her, barely expressing a nanoscopical amount of annoyance. Then she just had to…

'Can I have your autograph? I think I have the latest copy of the Bingo Book around here…' She went pass him, as if he was your average John Doe and went into the bedroom where she came out a minute later holding the small book. 'How long did it take you to kill your entire clan? That probably takes some real balls of steel, you know. Oh, here's your page.' She placed a pen in his hand. 'Did you really made it into ANBU when you were just 13? I had the chance to graduate high school when I was nine, you know, but where's the fun in that? Anyways, sign over here, please! And don't forget to add 'Love, Weasel' at the –'

Fia dropped on the ground, unconscious and Itachi stepped around her and stood at the attention of Hidan, Kakuzu, Rose and MJ. The latter were respectively face-palming themselves and slightly blushing. He wasn't wearing his Akatsuki cloak. Go figure.

'She hit her head recently. Did you have to add salt to head trauma, Itachi-sensei?'

Itachi ignored L-chan and then simply stated why he was here.

'Apparently, since you three have problems reading simple notices I will have to pick you up personally at 5 am every morning, starting for next week. I was notified of Fiona's case of retrograde amnesia, which is why I am giving you one week. I expect you to practice during that week because I will test your abilities on your first day. Good evening.'

And with that he shunshined out.

Rose blinked.

'Did the bitch really nearly graduated at 9?'

'Actually yes, Hidan-senpai.' Rose answered.' She refused the chance to finish her education that early for the sake of having a relatively 'normal' childhood.' Or in Fiona's case, to be under the radar of the government.

'Do you think she's okay, Kakuzu-senpai?' MJ finally got out of her blush-induced stupor.

'He merely made her fall asleep. But she sure does have guts.' The greedy ninja chuckled darkly. 'You are lucky Leader-sama has given us a notice to not harm you, otherwise she would be either dead or in the hospital wing comatose for life.'

Both Rose and MJ went pale with the reminder of the recent events and they shared a glance. Kakuzu had no idea how close he had been to what happened.

The rest of the evening went by relatively normally and Kakuzu had to wrap Hidan from head to toe in his tentacles in order to get him out of Fiona's apartment. Fia would wake up several hours later, feeling strangely lightheaded and then she would proceed by sulking until 7 am for not having Itachi's Autograph in her Bingo book. She already had Sasori's and Deidara's. And then she had gotten Hidan and Kakuzu's. She would've asked Pein if only he had a page of his own in the Bingo Book. Konan also, though she imagined that the blue haired woman would've killed her with papercuts by now if she'd even ask.

Still, the next week was ahead of her, and she had a lot of work to do. Especially figuring out why the hell it was so important to figure out what she had been doing in the past two weeks. But by the end of the week she would have found out another interesting pass time to have MJ and L-chan spasm with horror. Again.

_**A/N: I think this is a fitting end to an endless chapter, one that is yet to be completed. I just wanted to post this, though, so once all of it is up Ill rename the respective chapter parts. Anyways, we get a glimpse into Pein's view of the girls and also a bit more of Hidan and Kakuzu, who are a tiny bit more normal than what we see in the anime or manga. My excuse, however, is that everyone is more comfortable when they're feeling even slightly safer than usual. And my theory about S-class missing nin and good food still stands. Expect more updates soon, as I want to finish this arc. People in Oto have things to do, Konoha has exams soon and Suna is preparing for a secret alliance and a betrayal. Several suprises await here and there along the way. I hope you guys liked this chapter! Till laters , my munchkin mini-scooters! Remember to read and review! Reviews are like my fuel! :O**_


	49. Jinpachi's 105 year old Grandma

_**A/N: Before I start this chapter I just want to share a few things with you guys. First of all I have been working on my characters, since I seem to find inconsistencies everywhere I look, but I think than once I manage to get out of this arc, things will pick up again. At chapter 49 and the girls are still in Ame, what a disappointment for me…oh well, but I added tons of characters to work with and I think the long list of things to do for this fanfiction will definitely not make you envious. Second, I've changed several of the scenes in the coming chapters because I wasn't happy with them and I added several others, which I believe you guys will like. The Itachi-sensei concept has been revamped as I really like the idea of him as a sensei. I guess you will see what I'm talking about when I get there. Also, I said something about working on my characters. You will see some themes related to it in this chappie.**_

_**Finally, I've been watching stuff I've never watched before and I find myself completely enamored by the whole Appleseed anime and manga series. It's amazing! I also got some nice ideas from 'Spawn' and some other things. **_

_**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'll try to make up for the several last 'filler' type ones. And here is a little **__**WARNING**__** for it, as it will contain some very **__**descriptive scenes **__**concerning anatomy, physiology and to some extent psychological. It will not be dark per se, but just be **__**mindful**__**, especially those of you with overactive imaginations and **__**weak at heart**__**.**_

**Chapter 49**

You are introduced into the world naked, pure and eager to learn. You live and experience, you gain knowledge, material possessions, you gain friends and lovers, you create family. New life is born from you and soon enough that life sprouts a life of their own design. Before you know it, your time is up and one morning you simply succumb to the enchanting whispers of the twisting nether, never to wake again. That was the natural way of things, the eternal cycle of life and death, of creation and destruction. You die the same way you are born. Naked, pure and eager to learn. Naked for no form of material possession can pass the threshold of life and death. Pure, for no matter who you are, your life will forever stand for purity, as life is the ultimate contrast to the violent destruction of death. Eager to learn, as curiosity define what is man and stands for what humanity has been for many ages.

Fiona had always been fascinated by the cycle of life. Despite all that she was and despite her overly optimistic presentation of herself to the world, Fiona was a pragmatist and a realist, one who faced the cruel senselessness of the world with a broad smile, wicked humor and an even wickeder wit. For her, it was a natural way to fit into a society that did not interest her, not in its social form but with its other virtues and values. Humanity reminded her of… an ant colony. So many, so fragile, and yet they were the dominant species of the planet. It wasn't as if Fiona considered herself non-human. In fact, she considered herself to be of a superior status to 'normal' people, by her sheer intellect and nothing else. But when she indulged her rather huge pragmatist side, she did not view people from her own subjective point of view, but rather viewed the world through the unbiased eyes of an isolated observer of all and everything that was, is and would be. And, naturally, inside her mind there always was this small voice that kept telling her over and over again 'what you do thing is very different from what you should think'. Then Fiona would inquiry about what she should think and then her thought process would theorize correctly upon whatever matter was at hand. For almost her entire life she had been a naturalist as well. She believed that there wasn't a single supernatural thing, no matter how hard she tried to pretend that to her magic and life after death existed. It was yet again that same small voice. And that voice was her, being realistic and being a pragmatic of a naturalist.

Everything was either matter or energy and the two were interchangeable. The same, she believed, applied to the cycle of life and death. She did not believe in souls or in afterlife. The human psyche, or the psyche of every single living being on this planet with more than 1 cell consisting its body was the result of complicated chemical and biophysical reactions that happened for minute parts of a second. For her, one's psyche, including her own, was the result of action and reaction, adaptation, acclimatization, evolution of thought processes through learning and memory…. It was a plethora of things. She could clearly picture it in her mind, the action potential spurring into action like a supernova induced shockwave, travelling along cell-membranes until it reaches its destination in whatever nucleus of the brain or spinal cord it corresponded to. Sensor, motor and mixed neurons working continuously to provide a full multidimensional view of the surrounding world using all of the senses an organism had.

And then… there was Chakra… it was Fiona's elusive and semi-delusional dream to discover the secrets of this proverbial Philosopher's Stone. The thought of all the science yet to be discovered with this completely new branch of biophysics, anatomy, biochemistry and physiology were making her giddy and nauseous at the same time. Considering the fact her psyche was still in denial about all of them being in an entirely different dimension, and one based on an Anime and Manga series to boot! And it had been six months. The only thing she vaguely THOUGHT she remembered was a flash of light and some kind of incredible pressure that squeezed the daylights out of her.

The memory made her shiver and she subconsciously started rubbing her arms. By what manner of divine fancy had they ended up here? And why them? It was impossible for Fia not to notice how fast she was healing or how well Rose progressed with her ninja training. Sometimes when their sensei would show them how to properly execute a certain jutsu or move it almost felt like Déjà vu. Things that they had only theory crafted about. Things that they had never seen perform. The only exception was MJ, who had spent too many years of her life studying various martial arts in the pursuit of perfection. It was her outlet to her pains, but right now no matter how good she was at tai-jutsu, she seemed to be unable to progress any further with her genjutsu and ninjutsu training. Fiona guessed that she'd be working on a cocktail for MJ to make her speed things up. The way Fia saw it, stress forced a greater excess of chakra and she herself managed to finally perform proper Kawarimi only after Mariko-sensei had started throwing Kunai at them in sheer frustration.

And speaking of Mariko-sensei… It was probably one of the few things Fia would ever feel guilty about. And she felt guilty only because of the way Pain would look at her- the Deadpan patronizing look. And she knew what it looked like, as she had seen it all too often in the form of MJ's deadpan 'Did you have to do that?' exasperated look. The woman herself, Mariko-Sensei, was probably one of their sternest and most persistent senseis yet. Despite the tedious improvement, and mind you, they had mostly done basic academy level training, save for MJ's high chuunin – low jounin taijutsu level training, all of their teachers had insisted that their progress was remarkable. If they were the proper age for academy level ninja training, they would've been out of the proverbial ninja kiddie garden and would be given Rain headbands.

Fiona sighed. Maybe she should visit Mariko-sensei. Send her some flowers and chocolates. An 'I'm so sorry!' card. Maybe even visit her herself? And then she remembered that she had 2 weeks of her life completely missing. It was so frustrating at times! Fia puffed and got up from bed. It was 7 am and it was time to make some breakfast before she figured out how she would catch up to contemporary events. Some bacon and eggs sounded pretty tasty right now.

The blonde took a quick scan of the contents in her fridge. She grabbed what she deemed fanciful to her taste buds and ordered the ingredients on her kitchen surface. The bacon, the eggs, some spices and other goodies, enough for 8 people to feast on.

First she took the bacon and started cutting it into very thin stripes. While she did her chore with perfected precision, her mind kept wandering into the dark void that was the memories of the past two weeks. She knew what had happened. She could almost feel it. It was on the tip of her thought process. But just when she thought she remembered, the memories would run away. It was frustrating and nauseating. Fiona forced the tip of the blade a bit too harshly.

'Ouch!' she hissed angrily and gripped the bleeding finger. She put it in her mouth and rushed to the bathroom to get her first aid kit. The tip of the blade had gone through half of her finger, scraping the bone. She should've been more careful and with a detested frown she started to unravel a piece of sterilized cloth to wrap around her finger. She knew she healed quickly but that was a deep wound and she had bacon to cut.

Fiona blinked, freezing on her spot, just as she had prepared the sterile cloth to wrap around her finger. The bleeding had been reduced almost completely and she watched with morbid fascination as her flesh stitched itself together, thus producing a strange tingling sensation. In under 30 seconds, there wasn't even the slightest hint of a scar left, the only memorials of the wound being the now dried blood in the direct area of the now non-existent cut. She healed fast but this was…

'Daaaaayum…' she mumbled, her eyes glittering with inexpressible excitement. She slowly rubbed her thumb on the healed flesh. Nothing. There wasn't a single sensation out of the ordinary. Could it be…

Fiona darted for the kitchen once more and carefully nipped the same finger, biting her lower lip from the sudden stinging sensation. No sooner than she pulled out the blade, the small wound healed itself. Oh yes, that was one hell of a healing factor she was sensing with her 'Otaku' senses. Maybe she should check if it still worked. Just in case, you know.

And so, with the most disturbing and malicious grin on her face, she stabbed the kitchen knife right into the center of her palm.

'Ohhh…. Mother fucker….' She swore as she pulled out the blade. The gaping, bleeding hole filled and overflowed with crescent liquid but swiftly started to grow smaller and smaller until it finally closed down, leaving a perfectly healed palm in the midst of a small puddle of blood. Unholy glee radiated from her fascinated gaze, as she plunged the knife once more.

**LINELINELINELINE**

MJ woke up at around 10 am that morning, feeling rather well, if she could say so herself. It was a nice change from the last few days which ran along in a hectic manner, procuring a lot of stress for her. She felt glad that Fia was finally ok. It was disturbing to know that she had no memory of what happened the past two weeks, but she guessed that her obvious self-resurrection (or what she had dubbed the 'Bennet Style Jesus Stunt') had to come at the cost of something. And those two weeks of memories were probably worth every last second of them if being alive again was what you got in return.

The raven haired girl got out of bed and started stretching, preparing herself to do her warm ups before she headed for the bathroom to wash herself. It was something she did nearly every morning. It helped her wake up and kept her mind from the more troublesome thoughts. After some 40 minutes or so she made her way to the bathroom and took a nice long relaxing shower.

It was nearly noon when she finally felt ready to leave her apartment. Jessica went to get Rose first, but she was apparently not at home. Suspiciousness gnawed at her again, her instinct telling her she was probably training with one of Pein's bodies. It had become quite obvious to her once she started paying attention to all of the small details surrounding her red-haired friend. The woman hadn't been sticking around a lot for the last few months and while she said she was doing this thing or that, it never actually occurred to Jessica that she might've been going to training sessions with the Leader. Now that she was almost completely certain, she decided to not bother her and let her tell them in her own good time. She knew that Rose hadn't told them either because Leader had forbidden her to or because it wasn't safe to speak of these matters before them.

Jessica sighed. This entire ordeal…since they very first arrived here… She felt herself equally ecstatic and taxed. On one side this was an adventure of a life time, one that she knew she would never turn down no matter what. Despite having moments of doubt on occasion. Despite the fear that they would never return…or the fear that they would have to return. These dark thoughts would make her shudder at times. MJ shook her head and sighed. She headed towards Fia's apartment, quite sure she'd finally eat some home-cooked food. When she opened the door the first thing that struck her was how intense the scent of something familiar, something metallic was. Feeling of unease settled in her chest as she called out.

'Fia? Are you making sausages again?' the slight apprehensiveness in her voice was barely contained, her eyes shimmered nervously, betraying her uneasiness.

There wasn't a reply but she heard something shuffling in the bathroom. Her blood ran cold as she made her way towards it. As she saw the bloodied state of the kitchen and the big puddles of blood trailing their way to the bathroom, Jessica nearly fainted from horror and shock. This was blood. It wasn't meat and other stuff sprayed all over by a mincing accident gone horribly wrong in the hygiene department.

'Fia!' MJ screeched, alerting the nearby ANBU that were on surveying duty.

The raven haired girl darted for the bathroom and opened the door.

**LINELINELINELINE**

It was fascinating, really. Watching how your own flesh sealed itself as it went through the physiological steps of healing. The blood flowed too fast though and the flesh sealed itself too rapidly for it to clog the wound and stop the bleeding. The clogged blood would serve as a base with which the wound would start repairing itself, leaving a cicatrix (a scar in Latin) or healing without a mark, depending on the tissue. She wanted to see that process more clearly. She wanted to understand what compelled such rapid regeneration. She wanted to discover for herself the secrets of this amazing regeneration.

With each stab the feeling of pain lessened and the tingling sensation nearly disappeared at the fifth plunging of the kitchen knife into her left palm. She needed to see more, to feel more…to experience more. And with that she pulled out a kunai and carefully made a fine incision along her forearm. It healed instantaneously and Fia frowned. She wanted to see what was beneath and how it worked. It was a delusional desire but it was something that she just wanted to do. Because she knew she could. And she knew she could get away with it. It was the principle of the idea that seduced her senses. The ability to observe how your own body worked… It was a tantalizing thought. It drove her nearly nuts with the possibilities this brought before her. And so, she made another fine incision, hissing slightly as she plunged the kunai slightly deeper and did an inverse incision in the same cut, keeping it open. Slowly, she managed to peel off some skin and other tissue, all the while covering herself and the immediate area around her with blood.

She did not even feel slightly lightheaded from all the blood loss. All she could think about was the need to see. She peeled the other side of the skin and now she could see the oozing bloody muscle tissue, which contracted with each flex of her fingers. She had to constantly cut at the tissues of above the muscles in order to observe their contractions. She could trace each one of them to their respective ends on both sides. She could see her blood vessels, both veins and arteries pulsing with the excited rapid beating of her heart. She could trace the nerves along her forearm. Her hand was numb and she was sure that it wasn't possible for her to still feel things, but she did. It was merely numb of the pain. She wondered for a while if this was the doing of her chakra. For now it was not a top priority question but she made a mental note of if anyways.

Each time she cleared the fine membranes that formed above the muscles, new appeared. Fia's brows furrowed. She looked at the separated skin and fat tissue on both sides of the open flesh and she realized that it wasn't healing.

'Weird…' she mumbled as she flopped one patch of flesh back into position and it promptly healed. She flopped the other patch as well, and in no time her forearm was as good as new. 'Intelligent regeneration…it's like it knows what I am doing…'

Fia didn't dare think any of it but she noted the fact anyway. It was possible that she was indeed either Kyuubi or the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi. Whatever was the case, her body knew her intentions. Which was a bloody ridiculous conclusion, but it was almost as ridiculous as trying to explain what Kevlar was to Hidan in all of its scientific glory.

She plunged the kunai deep into her flesh yet again. It would be 15 more minutes before the act of self-vivisecting her arm would bore her. She moved to the bathroom, her feet leaving bloody puddles along the way.

Slowly, but determined, she stripped herself of her garments and filled the tub halfway with warm water. She carefully took off the mirror from that was on the wall and right above her sink. Fiona tenderly sat in the tub and positioned the mirror so that she could see her bare chest. She stared at herself for five minutes, calculating the possible risks of what she was planning to do. She took a deep breath and nodded at herself in the mirror. She made her decision and she readied her kunai just above her sternum (breastbone).

**LINELINELINELINE**

Misuri Taikashi was member of Amegakure's ANBU team 17. They were a group of 5 with 1 captain, the Taishou, and four other ANBU, who followed the Taishou. He had been assigned along with his team mates to watch over a strange group of girls that had been found some 6 months ago. So far they were one of three teams that cycled their watch on the girls. Despite how unusual the girls were, in the beginning he actually believed it was going to be a standard observing mission. After 6 months he knew their habits to the tee and one thing he could state on 100 percent was that they were everything but standard. He could see the typical, if not almost stereotypical transition of spies from being cautious with information to the 'going native' stage. But they weren't spies. And he knew because they didn't have that type of behavior that was typical for spies. They still had hidden secrets and even now he was sure that they were still hiding things from them. He couldn't blame them. They were practically like cornered animals.

There was one thing that always fascinated him about them and that was their guts. Few dared to even think of the things they pulled off and even fewer, if not none, dared to actually do even a few of the things they did. They had a strange foreign aura about them, one that brought a form of change into Amegakure. After all, it was merely several years ago when Pein-sama had taken over the rule of Rain and he still remembered how the God had killed every single person with even the slightest connection to the previous leader – Hanzou of the Salamander. It was a ruthless and needlessly violent, but effective tactic on Pein-sama's part.

And now he had taken in these three. It was extremely atypical behavior for the man, but the fact that one of them, Rose-san, was a Rinnegan bearer herself was enough of a reason to keep them around. Unlike the younger two girls, the woman did everything she could think of to keep their position as good as possible. She was probably the only one with the correct sense of diplomacy and a proper understanding of their situation. Jessica-san and Fiona-san were the type that exploited things just because they knew they would get away with it. While Fiona-san did so obviously and in such a manner that would leave a normal person drooling at her heels, Jessica-san did so in the stealthiest manner, worthy of a true ninja. The three of them were an odd group of friends with nearly nothing in common. They were fiercely protective of each other and they did everything in the name of some common cause.

If Misuri had to choose, he would've taken Rose-san for personal watch. She was the calmest and most diplomatic of the three. She carried herself with poise only the most refined daimyo's wives and daughters could carry themselves and she always spoke with a leveled tone. There was a sense of leadership oozing from her and a natural charisma that made you pay attention to her. She was perfect for a council member or personal advisor. As far as he knew she was very well read in terms of law and he had even seen her discuss political and trade matters with Pein-sama.

The way the two interacted had always been something of a fascination for Misuri. Especially how they both had almost exactly the same manners. It wasn't hard to spot the connection between them. It was something that frustrated Konan-sama, but it was mysteriously inevitable for both Rose-san and Pein-sama to feel at such an ease with each other. They were like twins separated at birth. It was the closest comparison Misuri could think of.

They had their differences. Pein-sama preferred the secured rule of his iron fist, while Rose-san was a lot more lenient in her approaches. It was something that easily turned her into a perfect diplomat as well.

Misuri had no idea where had these girls come from. No one did. But if he had to guess at anything, he'd bet that Rose came from a high-standing family. Everything about her screamed blue blood, no matter how hard she tried to look casual.

The masked ANBU sighed and looked once again about his perimeter. His Taishou, the leader of their 5-man team, and Kiyoko-chan had taken the patrol around the general area. The other two ANBU and Misuri himself were keeping an eye on the girls. There was nothing out of the ordinary, save for the looming dark stormy clouds coming from the north-east. There was probably going to be a storm tonight as well. Misuri was glad his shift would be over in 3 hours. He definitely wouldn't be feeling jealous of the night shift ANBU team.

And speaking of their duty, the apartment complex in which the girls lived was a typical ninja building. The windows were big and allowed easy transition inside and outside whenever needed. There was a balcony on one side of the small hall leading to the bathroom and bedroom, which was very easy to spy through. The windows of the bedroom were also large and the ninja had nearly no problem with them as well, either way. The kitchen had smaller windows, but the big windows of the combined living and dining room compensated for that. The bathroom window was just big enough for a regular-sized adult to smuggle themselves through.

Most of the ninja complexes were designed by architect nin. That way it was easier to keep an eye on ninja who were not born in the village, or missing-nin or even visiting ninja. It was one of the very few things that Pein-sama implemented from Hanzou's rule. It was funny, come to think of it, how paranoid Hanzou was about everything but his own physical defense. Ultimately it was his slacking that allowed Pein-sama to defeat him. Sadly, it was almost as if replacing one tyrant with the other, but at least Amegakure was finally starting to pick up itself after nearly 25 years of damnation. The village had nearly everything it needed, especially in the center and the industrial region. The other parts were not so well off and some sectors were practically barren of populace but people were slowly returning to the village. War had taken a horrible toll on his country and Misuri was certain that whatever was to come in the future, Amegakure wouldn't be able to survive another war, not so soon at least.

Suddenly, there was a scream. The three ANBU spun into action. There was a second, even more horrified screech and then there was silence.

**LINELINELINELINE**

It was going to be an actual, natural rainy day in Ame and Pein wasn't exactly thrilled. He disliked the natural storms because they severely disrupted his Rain jutsu, the one he used to spy on people. It was because of that that Rose had decided not to bother his Animal Path. It was usually this path that trained her, but sometimes she dealt with the Human path. Both were equally haunting and gorgeous, and Unlike Pein's Deva path, these slightly freaked her out. It was obvious to her that he did not put as much as emotion or whatever he put into his Deva Path. They were both pale with expressionless, dull faces and vivid Rinnegan eyes.

Rose was practicing her chakra control in the indoors training facility that was in the same building where his office was and it was somewhere above the dungeons. She was meditating, focusing on her inner power, her chakra. It was a startling surprise when she had first felt that power course through her veins. It was a very exhilarating experience, one that made her cautious with how she further evolved. Rose spared a glance towards Pein and then focused on her task once more. The Animal Path was sitting in the lotus position, not too far away, also seemingly meditating, but in fact keeping a close watch of whatever she was doing.

Slowly she exhaled and then inhaled, concentrating on her breathing. Rose was perfectly aware that her perfect bosom was following her exaggerated breathing pattern and it was sensually going up and down. She was using both her intercostal and her abdominal muscles along with her diaphragm to breathe, making it easier for chakra to flow throughout the body, or at least that was the theory behind it.

All Rose was actually concerned about was how her breasts bounced when she had to run laps around the training chamber. Basically, the ninja world did not have actual sports bras. And her heavy, perfect bust bounced painfully with each step. It was an embarrassing thing to discuss with a man, let alone with Pein of all people and she disliked Konan for her attitude towards her and her friends. Maybe she had to discover for herself how to use chakra to keep the 'twins' from falling off?

'You aren't concentrating enough, Rose.'

'Hai, Pein-sama. I apologize.' She said quietly and evenly and tried to focus yet again on what she had to be doing.

**LINELINELINELINE**

A quiet fan was working in the background, its humming being one of the many quiet sounds that kept Nagato from truly falling asleep. Blood red locks covered his lowered face as he meditated. Pain ripped through his being but it was a daily, continuous sensation- one to which he had grown accustomed to over the years he was confined to this mechanical device.

'Nagato.'

Pein looked up and saw Konnan standing at the doorway.

'There is still no message from Deidara.'

The man nodded. Ever since that day Deidara had disappeared. He was sure it was Fiona's doing but it baffled him to no end how she had managed to smuggle him of all people out of Rain and even out of his reach. He had no idea where Deidara was. He had simply disappeared during the horrid storm in which he somehow managed to kill the girl. Sasori had called it the drawback of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Her brain had imploded and then it had miraculously healed itself, leaving her extremely paranoid and with a 2 week gap in her memories. He'd question her sometime this week, but he wasn't in that much of a hurry about it. He had other, more important things to do, like figuring out how to explain Deidara's absence to Madara and prepare all the documentation for his arrival. It wasn't going to be too long when the man would come. A month at most. And he always checked the documentation. It was something that probably all old men had in common – taking their bloody time.

'What are you going to do about Madara, Nagato?'

'I'll send Sasori on a mission. That way Madara will not suspect anything.'

'He told us to have all of them here for the meeting, Nagato.'

'There is little we could do about that. Deidara is so far away that he cannot even contact us.'

'Then how are you…'

'Sasori will say he was wounded in battle and he needs rest. We will deal with Madara if it comes to that.'

Konan exhaled, frustration barely audible in her slightly forced breath.

'And those girls, Nagato? The ones you are so insistent on keeping?'

Pein's ringed eyes locked with Konnan's. Usually they never argued. And here they were, discussing the three strange girls yet again. He knew that Konnan was restraining herself from expressing her opinion of them.

'I've told you so many times, Konnan. When I saw her, I felt like I had known her my whole life. Like I've finally met myself. I cannot explain it…but there is a bond. One that is so different from…' Nagato did not finish his sentence. His features softened though. Ever since those girls came in Ame he had felt something else. Something beyond the pain. It was change. Something different and fresh, so unlike his life and yet similar in some ways. He had felt the world through another's eyes. And it was how he knew that they weren't enemies. She was him. It was irrational if not even delusional. But she was him. And he was her. It was one of the things that lead him to believe that they were other-worldly.

'Be careful, Nagato.' Konan said softly and left him to his own devices.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Blood. It was everywhere. The kitchen was drenched with it. The floor was soaking in it. The stench and its freshness made her choke on her own bile. It was so repulsing in the message it was insinuating: Something was wrong with Fia.

There was yet again a shuffle in the bathroom. Electricity ran through her as she charged the bathroom. She opened the door only to have her feet splashed with the bright red liquid that seemed to be everywhere in her sight. But it was not it that made her heartbeat stop. It was the body that was lying leisurely in the bathtub, taking a gloriously bloody bath.

Blonde hair was pulled up in a now reddish sloppy bun with many locks streaking out at odd places and drenching themselves in the bloody water of the tub. Two vivid azure sapphires were staring straight through her soul. The face carried a look of moderate surprise, the mouth forming an 'o'. Her neck was arched backwards as she was leaning her head on the back of the tub. But the most terrifying thing that was to be beheld was her exposed chest. Her open, mutilated chest. The rib cage had been cut apart with the Kunai still in the blonde's limp left hand. MJ could even clearly see the metal plates placed on the 3 lowest attached ribs on the right side. Those were from the time she had jumped to fight a saltwater crocodile.

MJ could clearly see the still beating heart, the movements of the diaphragm and the collapsed lungs. Blood was oozing from all manner of places and MJ had no idea how it could be still going and going. She was completely in shock, terrified to no end and her psyche was shattered. Her best friend in the entire universe had been mutilated… the clothes she could see thrown to the side hastily…could it be…no…

MJ collapsed on her knees, her crystal blue eyes shimmering with quickly filling tears, all color completely drained from her face. Her lips were slowly turning blue and her lower lip was trembling. Her fists were clenched and her whole form soon started shaking violently. But her gaze never left Fia.

And then it happened.

The hand holding the kunai moved and the mouth formed silent words.

'I…can…' but she never finished.

This was it for Jessica. The ungodly scream of a tortured for millennia soul left the lips of the pale raven haired young woman as she stood up and stumbled backwards and out of the bathroom. Her eyes were even larger now, almost threatening to pop out with disbelief. She turned to the side and promptly threw up. And then she ran as fast as she could.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Puppetry was a demanding art on its good days. It was a chore on the ordinary days and it was a pain on the bad days. But it was an art eternal. And he was an art eternal because of it. The ultimate weapon and the ultimate creation of man – an immortal being with no flaws and no boundaries. For having achieved his dream so early in his life, there was little left for Sasori than to drift to where the flow of time would take him. And it had taken him to the Akatsuki. At first he believed he had found the perfect partner in the not too different from himself Orochimaru. The man was ruthless and did not appreciate art the same way that he did, but they both shared the status of immortality.

A low, barely audible growl could be heard from Sasori as he changed a joint of one of his puppets. It wasn't the work that annoyed him. It was the fact that Deidara was gone, and even if the Brat was annoying, he was still his partner and a fellow artist with whom he shared a kinship and an appreciation of art.

His time with Orochimaru had been…interesting. It hadn't been once or twice when the old snake would consult with him about various experiments or theories, him being the only person he would trust with such information out the entire Akatsuki. Those were probably some of his best days in Akatsuki. Being an intellectual as well as an artist it wasn't hard for Sasori to appreciate Orochimaru's own form of art – altering the human genome. Although there was nearly no data about the secrets of this elusive nanoscopic bodily substance – the DNA- he was certain that Orochimaru was the person that knew the most about it.

And still those wonderful days of experiments and discussions came to an end. In a way, Sasori was more disappointed with Orochimaru than anything else. In a way, he felt discarded, even for a little while. He missed their discussions. But he also hated Orochimaru for leaving. It was shameful and it was petty. It bothered Sasori to no end. With his Leave Orochimaru had either taken with him or destroyed many of their mutual projects, leaving completely no trace of them. That was the true blow that Sasori had taken. Years of his time wasted. Years of meticulous work destroyed. Orochimaru would pay for that.

The puppet was again in top shape and Sasori sealed it only to pull out the next one for complete inspection. Being an immortal puppet had many bonuses. You didn't sleep nor eat. You didn't waste time to do that stuff and that meant more time for art. The way Sasori saw things, he couldn't be any better.

If Sasori had to be honest, the one thing he missed right now or felt the need to have… was a bit of company. Not a lover per se. But a person to share his discoveries with, to have someone to talk to. Someone intelligent. And in his 30 years or so of life he had met only several such people. And Fiona and Deidara were such people. Neither were on hand. And so the only other thing he could do was bother Leader-sama to find Deidara as soon as possible. In the mean time, he'd wait for Fiona to get better and then he'd have her keep him company in his workshop. While she was a bubbly person, most of the times there were many scientific pearls spewing from her mouth, carefully disguised as utterly girly gibberish. He meticulously sifted through most of them to realize that she wasn't just a genius, she was basically a ninja in her observation skills to the point that he actually felt threatened at that one particular time. And that particular time may have been around the time her friend went berserk. And that naturally was around the time they managed to vanish Deidara…somehow.

Deep down inside a tiny voice told him that he missed his occasional small explosions. Well, he did miss the brat. They were almost on friendly terms with him, and that was a lot in missin-nin society.

**LINELINELINELINE**

It was cold and the air was dry. He felt himself drifting on some sort of boat, but he couldn't hear the splashing of the waves. Slowly, Deidara opened his tired, heavy with unnatural sleepiness eyes and groaned. The sky was blue and cloudless. And he was inside a VERY large basket. The blonde man's arms and legs were stiff and numb at the same time both with the cold and him not having moved for many many hours. Slowly, he pulled himself in a sitting position. Now he felt slightly more aware of his surroundings. He noticed that there were thick roped tied to the corners of the huge basket he was in and these ropes were then attached to a large cloth balloon which was propelled by a small fire-producing mechanism. It oddly looked like a modified contraption of Danna's.

It was about now that Deidara woke up completely. He was dressed in pink. He was dressed in something horrendously pink. He was dressed in a pink tutu. With pink ballerina's shoes and pink nail polish and all that horrendous pink. His hair was in the two girliest ponytails he couldn't even imagine. At least he still had his scope. Instead of freaking out, he quickly assessed the situation. Deidara hadn't been called a prodigy for no reason and his first move was to rid himself of the horrid haircut and fix his hair. Then he calmly scoped his immediate area and found a small piece of paper, attached to the wall of the basket opposite of him…

**LINELINELINE**

Misuri Taikashi had seen many things as an ANBU of Amegakure. But the horror he had seen in the eyes of Jessica-san… it was one of those things he had rarely seen. They were so haunted… What the hell had happened! As soon as he grabbed her, in order to keep her from running away, she collapsed in his arms, completely submerging herself into her own inner world.

'Call Taishou! Jessica-san is in shock!' he yelled at his comrade. Just as the third ninja was about to enter the apartment to find out what had happened, a very bloodied and wet towel clad Fiona appeared, looking completely fine. Her poker face was a sure fire way to indicate how guilty she was feeling in reality.

For a second all was still and silent.

Jessica screamed bloody murder, her eyes rolled backwards and she promptly fainted. All eyes turned to Fia as two other ANBU arrived at the scene. She cleared her throat.

'Um…I think I can…explain?' her voice was quiet and slightly high pitched. Rose was going to kill her. She just basically wasted 5 years of MJ's therapy progress just by doing her usual shenanigans.

**LINELINELINELINE**

'Leader-sama!' The ANBU Captain of ANBU team 17 literally flew in Pein's office. The Deva path tore his ringed gray eyes from his paperwork and looked at the ANBU captain.

'What is it?'

'There has been an incident with the targets, Leader-sama. Jessica-san is in severe shock and currently unconscious.'

'What happened?' Pein wasn't even surprised. He could almost hear Konnan say I told you so. Not that she would say it to his face, but she was bound to think it and he'd see it in her eyes.

'Fiona-san has done something…again, Pein-sama.'

At this point the two more ANBU of team 17 entered, escorting a very uncomfortable looking Fiona. She was making a bad job of trying to keep the bloodied towel around herself and fix her wet and also bloodied hair into something less mangled and more manageable. Her azure eyes darted around the office, looking decidedly disgruntled. Apparently whatever she had done she deemed not of her fault but still felt somewhat responsible.

'Fiona.' Pein addressed her. He looked straight into her eyes, the intensity of his gaze nearly making her tremble. She gulped audibly but did not tear her own azure sapphires from his. Even when actually afraid, she always stood her ground. It was an interesting perk of hers. Her eyes held apprehension, curiosity and intensity of their own. Usually when they stared into each other's eyes, she'd smile warmly, her eyes sparkling with mirth. She carried a drop of divine happiness in her. Weather she felt poorly or had a hard day, she'd always find strength to smile and carry on. It reminded him of Yahiko. He never gave up either.

Now, she hadn't smiled. Her gaze was uncertain, that much was sure. She did not know if he was going to punish her or not. Considering the fact he had no idea what had happened, that spoke that it was that bad.

'What did you do this time, Fiona?' he simply asked, not really caring for pleasantries. Not that he ever did.

'I… uh…How do I say this without sounding emo? Well…uh…you could say I might have been…stabbing myself.' Pein actually raised an eyebrow. 'I-I mean…well, stabbing is not the right word…more like self-vivisection…or um…self-exploration! Yes that's it! No! Wait! That sounded so incredibly perverted…um…'

'What. Happened.' His voice was still calm but he emphasized each word. The ANBU looked at each other. Trust Fiona to be obnoxious enough to annoy Pein-sama.

'MJ walked in while I was watching my heartbeat?' she squealed out, while trying to smile innocently but the smile turned out like more of a grimace.

'Watching your heart beat?'

'Yes! And I actually saw how much of my right lung was removed! Though it's hard to tell when it's collapsed like that, you know. And I saw the metal implants holding my lower three ribs riiiiight here.' She pointed just below her right breast, looking chirpy, as if explaining something remarkably fascinating.

'Have you been practicing Jashinism, Fiona?' Now it was Fiona's turn to raise her eyebrows. Did Pein seriously think that? Well, considering the amount of time she had been spending with the 'friendly' neighborhood schizophrenic… he probably had a point.

'Um...actually I got carried away while checking out my chest's contents…and as much as I like staring at Hidan-senpai's moobies I don't think becoming Jashinist will agree with my no-emo policies.' Fiona cleared her throat uncomfortably and then stared at her bloody toes with morbid fascination. She scratched at the back of her wet head and laughed nervously at Pein. At least his eyebrow wasn't raised anymore.

'And why is Jessica-san in shock?'

'I have the suspicion she thought I was a zombie.'

'I see…care to explain this sudden interest in cutting yourself, Fiona?'

Fia cringed slightly at his wording, the emo insinuation peeving her to no end. He was so good at using her own words against her! Feisty, isn't he?

'I think it was because my healing…uh… can I call it factor? Well, my healing factor seems to have increased exponentially…and…uh…as I said, I got ...ahem… carried away.'

'Do you know why your 'healing factor' suddenly increased.'

'Does it have anything to do with my loss of memories?'

For a moment Pein was silent, seemingly pondering over his answer.

'Do you know what happened?'

'I wasn't told, Pein-sama. I was going to ask today, though.'

'Hn. Apparently Sasori had taught you a new jutsu. The B-Rank Shadow Clone Technique, which impressed me, for your information.'

Fiona's only reaction to that was slightly opening her mouth and the widening of her eyes. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks from the unexpected praise, though it was hard to spot through the diluted dried blood on her face.

'You successfully kept active 10 or so clones with little to no problem. He said you had instructed them to help out in the workshop. With their duties complete, they apparently left the workshop to cause chaos and mischief.'

'That sounds about right.' Fiona mumbled thoughtfully. 'I mean, I'd totally cause…um…never mind.' She decided not to finish her thought, because there was the chance for Pein to find out that she understood what the Shadow Clone Technique was and its uses.

'They caused problems all over Amegakure and Sasori and yourself have been trying to track them down. I will not ask you why you have been holding back, as per my agreement with Rose-san. I will however tell you that you failed to locate them for a total of 36 hours. Sasori is one of the best ninja in the Elemental countries, and on top of that your clones managed to kidnap Deidara and he has not been seen since. Currently he is not anywhere near Rain. I am curious about your ideas as per how you would have achieved such a feat without leaving the country.' Pein's eyes slightly narrowed. Locating Deidara seemed to become a bigger problem by the second, as he seemed to drift further and further from his senses. 'At that point, after those 36 hours, I was forced to act. I located all of your clones, riding some kind of a metal transportation machine. I dispersed them. That caused your brain to…apparently implode. You were dead for thirty seconds after which you came back to life.'

Fia's breath hitched, her eyes becoming alert, her pose rigid and attentive to whatever he was going to say next.

'It may be a dormant bloodline but I am sure that you know more as to the origins of your remarkable resurrection. Those who know what happened have been instructed to keep this information strictly confidential. I may not be asking questions, but you are to give me your full subordination as per my agreement with Rose-san.'

'Pein-sama… I need to see the full report on whatever you found out about my clones…' Fia seemed to put aside the mind boggling idea of dying and coming back to life again. She had to speak with MJ and Rose as soon as possible. She needed to know what was going on.'

'You will have those…however, you must help find Deidara.'

'Hai, Pein-sama.' Fia nodded.

Suddenly Pein looked at the door. Not a second later it opened to reveal a calm Animal Path followed by a livid Rose. Fia didn't waste time to dart for the safety of the Deva Path's back.

'I swear it's a misunderstanding, L-chan! It's not my fault MJ barged into my apartment! Pein-sama save me!'

She ducked behind the desk, quite dramatically, in fact, and not quite paying attention to her exposed hiney.

'I just spoke with MJ. Don't go to her for a day or two. She will be fine. But! Seriously Fiona. What in the name of all that is holy were you thinking? I thought you had learned your lesson when you nearly died trying to wrestle a ten meter long reptile in some of the most dangerous waters. Apparently you are either incorrigible or too stubborn to learn your lesson. I am seriously considering whether you are sane or not, Fiona.'

'You can't just walk into my bathroom! What if I was using the toilet?'

'For God's sake, Fia!' Rose exhaled exasperatedly and threw her hands to the side. 'I love you like my own flesh and blood, but you seriously freak me out some times.' The red haired woman shook her head. 'And I was actually looking forward to getting some of your home-cooked meals today.'

'If I may be excused.' Rose strode out of the office and the Animal path soon followed.

'I fuck up royally all the time, don't I, Pein-sama?' Fia put her hands on her head and groaned. Pein just looked at her.

**LINELINELINELINE**

'Sasori-san, you have a missive from Pein-sama.' The ninja exclaimed loudly and left the letter on one of the free desks in the workshop. With his job done, he left the puppet master, if he was even in his workshop (though he rarely left it when not on missions), to his own devices.

From the shadows a figure appeared - the puppet Hiruko with its master within him, Sasori. He took the missive, opened it and read it.

'It seems that Pein-sama wishes to speak to me personally.' He mumbled through the rough voice of the puppet Hiruko.

Ever since the disappearance of Deidara things have been slightly weird. He knew that it was probably because Madara was going to come for a visit in a month or so. Oh, he didn't know that for sure. It was just that he knew from one of his sleeper agents that Pein was preparing all of the needed documentation concerning Akatsuki for inspection. And the only person he knew, thanks to some… otherworldly… sources, to be of enough power to be even above Pein himself was Uchiha Madara. From what he could gather from his profile from The Bible, he was a major threat to the Elemental Countries, and even though he didn't particularly care for them, he did not feel like becoming his servant for the sake of his delusional, demented plans and sick ambitions. For now, he would only gather information. He would observe and he would plan. And then, when the time was right, he would strike like the scorpion he is.

From what Sasori could gather from the missive, he was basically going to take the three girls on an easy mission outside of Amegakure for the period of time Madara was probably going to stick around. It was a weird idea to do so, especially when they were going to have a personal meeting, not to mention how much he HATED tardiness in any form, including missing appointments.

The puppet master swished Hiruko's tail idly as he mused upon what was to be ahead of him. The instructions were very basic. He was to locate a person that would be specified later to retrieve some sort of package which Pein (or Nagato, as he had found out the pseudo-leader's real name) would then receive through him. The mission was undercover but fairly simple. It handled a delicate substance, which he guessed might be some sort of new poison or concoction Pein had ordered. It irritated him that he hadn't asked him to make it, as he had one of the best, if not the best, laboratories in the entire ninja world. Still, Sasori knew that since the mission hadn't a specified return date, it was probably designated to him in order to try and find Deidara. And at the same time get the girls out of Amegakure for their own sake and for Pein's. Madara would probably bitch about his absence and Deidara's, but he'd rather make him PMS for a while than figure out Deidara was MIA and find about the girls. It was a very ingenious plan on Pein's side, as it was nearly full proof. Of course, Sasori being a missing Nin, it was rather impossible for him to use phrases like 'full proof'. Madara was going to suspect something was up. Until he got further information, however, he would be dealing only with his speculations.

**LINELINELINELINE**

'Hidan, Kakuzu, you have come early.'

'There wasn't any need for us to waste both our times, Pein-sama.' Kakuzu tightened his tentacle hold on Hidan, who was trying to at least free his mouth so he could spit obscenities at his partner and the leader. It's not like he could die.

'Very well, Kakuzu.' Pein put away the paperwork he was reading. 'As you know, the girls are a…pet project of mine. Certain people mustn't know of their involvement in Akatsuki. As such I have decided to send them on a simple retrieval mission outside of Amegakure. Sasori will accompany them as the object that needs to be retrieved is down his alley of expertise.'

'What do we have to do then, Leader-sama?'

'Your job will be to clean up their tracks. They will soon be ready to leave the village and serve as spies to the cause. For that to be possible, however, I need them to…disappear from the ninja records. I am completely confident that you would manage to do so, Kakuzu.'

'When shall I start, Leader-sama?'

'The mission will be in a month's time. You have until then to discretely remove information about them.'

'If I may ask, Leader-sama, why is this necessary?'

'I have my…suspicions. That is all you need to know.'

'The meeting is also in a month's time, Leader-sama. What are we to do about Deidara's absence. We need to locate him at least for his ring.'

'That is why I am sending Sasori and the three women on the mission.'

'Ah, I see now. Thank you for explaining Leader-sama.'

**LINELINELINELINE**

'You called for me, Leader-sama?'

'You are aware that next month we will be having a meeting with all of the members present.'

'Hai, Leader-sama.'

'Due to the fact Deidara is missing, I have decided to send your temporary students along with Sasori on a retrieval mission, one that will cover their search for Deidara. I have spoken with Fiona and she has come up with a few theories as to Deidara's whereabouts. Your job is to keep your involvement with them confidential. As I will be soon releasing them as spies for me, I am going to erase any possible evidence of Ninja involvement. You are not to discuss them with other members of Akatsuki.'

'Hai, Leader-sama.'

'The retrieval mission will be in one month. Their job is to take an item from a certain person and then they are to return to Amegakure. Since I have not designated any return date, they will be informed that they have unofficially additional 2 weeks to search any information about Deidara.'

'If I understand correctly, I am to train them until the mission.'

'That is correct. Furthermore, while they will not be able to locate Deidara, as he is out of the Elemental Continent, they would at least try to find out any trace of him. If the situation requires it, I might have to send you, Sasori and Kakuzu to retrieve him or the ring at least.'

'The mission will compromise Sasori-san's attendance to the meeting.'

'The mission is simple but the item they are retrieving is important in achieving our goal. Because of that his absence will not be a problem. You may leave, Itachi.'

The raven-haired man nodded and he left the Leader's office, speculations and suspicions floating about in his thoughts.

As Itachi approached a small dango shop on a nearby street, he came to the conclusion that Pein was also trying to keep the girls out of Amegakure. It was a possibility that he was trying to hide them from Madara, especially Rose, who was also a Rinnegan bearer. That, and coupled with Deidara's disappearance, was a perfect way to get them out of the way for the 2 or 3 weeks the old Uchiha would be around. With all of the commotion about the three otherworldly girls, he was bound to have some interesting times ahead of him. The fact alone that the blonde menace had managed to somehow kidnap Deidara and make him disappear was just yet another proof that he should constantly be on his guard.

He paid the dango shop assistant for his dango and then turned to go to his own apartment. He had a lot to report to Jiraiya.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Fia found her apartment in the process of being cleaned up by several young Chuunin, the gore apparently having been too much for the poor Genin who had been here previously. She waited patiently for 3 hours, letting them work in peace and when they were done, she finally went to the bathroom to clean herself up and to take a proper long shower. Her thoughts for the entire period since she left Pein's office till now were concentrated on the file he had given her. It contained a full report on her Kage Bunshins' chaos spree. But it wasn't that that concerned her the most. It was the fact that she had no control over them. Maybe it was a divine form of retribution for all the critters she had killed and all the people she had mislead or manipulated? Nah. That couldn't be it.

According to the report, they had tackled people with water balloons and paint balls, they had kidnapped Deidara and now he had vanished, and what was the most interesting part for her – they had managed to build a fully functional automobile from scrap. Sasori had also later found several other gadgets of her design and the pictures that were provided of them made her blood drain from her face. They had built a paint ball sniper, which she desperately hoped that the ninja wouldn't think much of it, which she doubted. It was made of very basic materials and it design was also extremely simple, containing only the needed functional parts to survive through spitting out paint balls. She could tell just from the picture alone that it was not suitable for actual bullets but it could still be modified to shoot whatever ninja wanted to shoot with it.

Having finally gone through the whole report, Fia made herself something to eat and then yet again looked through the files. She wanted to know everything about the time period in which Deidara had been kidnapped. Apparently there have been reports from several eye witnesses of some kind of contraption, which she properly recognized as a hot air balloon from the descriptions, which had been attached to a rope and left to hang in the air really high. That was probably the major breakthrough she needed in order to determine what may have happened to Deidara. Knowing herself, he was probably left hanging dressed in something utterly ridiculous, aiming to freak him out big time. She'd make the rope holding the balloon at bay long enough for the contraption to be a bit higher than the lowest clouds (some 500 meters or so). Those were Pein's clouds. And she would add some food and his own clothes and she'd attach a note saying he now had to survive for 3 months in these altitudes. The idea was probably not too far off from what her clones had done. She knew herself well enough, after all. But she was worried. Had they removed all the clay even from his mouths? It was possible; otherwise he would've been back by now. It had been 4 days since the incident and a hot air balloon, depending on the reservoir of whatever was keeping it floating, could go long distances in no time, especially with faster wind currents.

That was probably what she needed to do – find some maps and weather reports for the entire Elemental Continent. She had a bad feeling about it. Apparently the weather had been horrid the day of the 'incident'. And apparently there had been a report of a torn apart rope near Deidara's apartment. And finally, apparently the winds have been blowing really hard that day.

**LINELINELINELINE**

'Hey.' MJ looked a bit shy and uncomfortable as she stood at Fiona's doorstep. The exuberant blonde simply smiled warmly at her best friend and stepped aside for her to enter. It was a bit strange to see their positions switched so, as MJ was feeling guiltier than Fiona in the moment. Even though it was not correct of the blonde to forget her friends and go off the deep end, in the end MJ decided that being angry at Fiona for something like that was pointless, as Fiona could not help her mad scientist side. It was the way she was. And it was a gesture of friendship for MJ to show her full support, even when she did not approve of the behavior.

'Come in MJ. I've made some pork bites and Salad of the Day.' Fia closed the door as MJ passed her and followed her to the kitchen.

'What's in the Salad of the Day today?' MJ asked casually, but there was a very slight hint of unease in her voice as she scoped the freshly cleaned up kitchen.

'Hmm, the usual. Some tofu, carrots, garlic, the pepper-like thingy, some fish bits and cabbage!' Fia happily listed off.

'Um, I think I'll pass.' MJ stated as she got a little pale. Trust Fia to vacuum leftovers like the glutton she was.

'It's ok.'

'Fia, either cook by the book or just…don't give me stuff that will later give me nightmares! I am still recuperating from that time you added Peach Nectar to the chicken salad. And that was 3 years ago.'

'Hmpf. Whatever suits you I guess. There's also a separate sliced carrots and cabbage salad so you know and Argentina chicken.'

'You know me too well.'

'That I do. By the way, MJ, guess who I saw shopping for groceries the earlier today?'

'Who?'

'You will never believe me!'

_***Flashback***_

It was a wonderful sunny morning after a typically rainy night. Those were the best as the air was the freshest at that particular point. Fia opened all of the windows of her apartment and went out to the balcony to hang her laundry to dry. It was a strange sight to see the blonde do her own cleaning chores, but it had become more and more of a stable change as time passed. Never being one to lose the chance to inhale some fresh laundry smell, especially when the morning was so wonderful, the girl took a deep breath and exhaled audibly, expressing her olfactory Nirvana.

Fia went back inside and headed for the kitchen. Sadly, it seemed that it was time to stock (overstock) her fridge again. The blonde shrugged and prepared herself for a nice long trip around the local Bazaar.

Amegakure was probably the mirror image of the true face of the ninja feudal world. Everything that happened in the great ninja nations reflected upon Rain. Because of that some days there were plenty of things for sale while others there was scarcely anything at all. Today had been a good day and there were plenty of things for sale. The meat stand offered all kinds of meat, ranging from the ordinary beef and pork, to the more exotic like deer and wild hog. Fia always stocked with what she found to suit her taste and those of her friends and acquaintances best. Pork and beef in large quantities, and a bit of wild hog meat and some pheasants. The butcher had been a bit too friendly at first but now it was all fine. She just had the proper eye to discern the good quality meat from the not so good or old meat.

At the fish stand there were always plenty of people. Rain was rich in many water sources for its small size and it had 2 great rivers that went through it. Hadn't the country been in such a political turmoil it would've thrived on trade. Travel by water was the easiest way to go somewhere and Rain was a crossroad for nearly all of the elemental countries. From there stemmed most of its problems. A sad reality and a lot of wasted potential. After some 30 minutes the blonde finally managed to scoop up a frontal position and by some miracle bought several decent sized fish. She should've gone shopping early in the morning. Right now it was a battle with the old ladies and the housewives for the best piece of produce on the stalls and she was 100 percent sure that not one or two of those grabby housewives pulled at her currently braided blonde hair quite harshly to get her out of the way. The things she did for her fellow inter-dimensional travelers. Fia shook her head as her retreat was a lot more hastier than her attempts to buy fish. Go figure.

Finally she found herself within the borders of the fruit and vegetable market. One thing always caught Fia in a state of surprise. No matter how many times she went to the fruit and vegetable market, she'd always feel awed by the weird combination of everything that she saw. Papaya, mango, guava and avocado, right next to pineapples, cherries and forest fruit, all imported from Cloud and lots of vegetables, like onions, tomatoes and spinach from Rock. It was a very weird combination of places for her, as she was now very familiar with the geography of the entire Elemental continent. As she was thoughtfully looking at the bunch of tomatoes exhibited at one stand, someone familiar passed her, and she immediately turned to see who it was.

**LINELINELINE**

Uchiha Itachi had been a missing nin since he was 13 years old. And to see him now, standing in the middle of the fruit and vegetable market, picking produce for dinner… It was not a sight that anyone would think they'd see every day. And considering the fact that Itachi and almost all of the Akatsuki members spent time mostly on foot and about the Elemental countries… Well… it definitely was not a sight anyone would actually see every day. Itachi and Kisame usually spent around 2 months tops per year in Amegakure and their apartments pristine condition spoke of almost no use for all the years they've been in Akatsuki.

And wearing ordinary everyday clothes among the civilians helped to keep low profile. Deep down inside Itachi knew he enjoyed shopping like all the housewives and old ladies he so often saw about the place. It was one of the things he would never admit even under the pain of death but the simple fact was that this helped him forget, even for several moments, that he was a missing nin and he could secretly indulge himself of a fantasy of normalcy, something he had always craved.

And Itachi was also an excellent cook. Among missing ninja, the rate of ninja who could and those who couldn't was about 1 out of every 100. Kunoichi included. There was an intriguing story behind that.

It had been the first months of missing nin-hood and Kisame had proved himself to be an excellent fisherman. But the regions where they could fish were significantly less in comparison with the regions where proper hunting was needed. That and most Kiri-nin or ninja from the coastal regions were all moderate to highly trained in fishing. Having been part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Kisame had once explained in those early months of their partnership, that it had been Jinpachi Munashi who had been the cook in their merry band of Kiri ninja. Kisame could go on for hours about Jinpachi's Grandma's amazing recipe for Luscious Bulgogi. His beady eyes would go uncharacteristically sparkly as he would indulge himself of the memories of eating the dish.

Kisame had tried only once to recreate the dish. Itachi had forbidden him from nearing any cooking utensil as long as they were in the same vicinity. And so, 3 months after Itachi had left Konoha and had become partners with Kisame, the two of them had been standing before a huge warthog that they had managed to kill (without destroying it entirely in the process) and it had been Itachi's turn to try and cook it.

'Itachi-san, do you think we should use jutsu to cook the damn thing? I'm starving.' Kisame had stated. Then again, Itachi had thought at the time, Kisame was always starving. It had taken for the Uchiha prodigy only several seconds to conclude the needed parameters of his selected Fire jutsu which he would be using to 'cook' the warthog.

One small fireball later and two starving Akatsuki members were staring digestedly at a lump of smelly, smoking lump of burning coal.

'Itachi-san?'

'Yes, Kisame-san?'

'Sharingan can copy things, right? Can't you copy recipes from a cook book or something?'

'Hn.'

The only person who Itachi vaguely suspected of knowing what transpired in the next few months was probably Leader-sama. In the rare moments of having nothing to do in particular Itachi would often wonder what had gone through Pein's head when he had probably discovered they suspended three missions for the sake of stalking none else but Jinpachi Munashi's 105 year old cook of a grandmother, until Itachi had learned all of her recipes. Truth be told, it had been Kisame who had demanded to stalk her in particular.

It had been a particularly troublesome mission in Itachi's opinion. Mainly because it wasn't an actual mission and because Pein had spent 3 hours on lecturing them about proper Akatsuki etiquette. Partially because it was probably the most ridiculous he had ever done, bar only to that one time he hid the Fourth's hat when he had been still alive in the Women's side of the hot springs in Konoha (that had been totally Shisui's fault). And also because he spent every single moment internally fretting over the possibility of Madara spotting them in Water country while they should've been in Wind waiting for some mission details. Oh, and he almost had forgotten about that the old 105 year old lady had been a ninja once and having spent at least 70 years of her life raising 5 generations or so of Kiri ninja of the Munashi clan… it could be easily summed up that she was one tough granny and even he, the Uchiha prodigy and a member of the Akatsuki had trouble hiding from her while she prepared one meal after the other.

Those three weeks of spying and learning the secrets of the old lady's recipes had been worth it. It was what had gotten Kisame to be friendlier to him and vice versa. And then Kisame had gotten into his head that he had to 'pull out that big stiff Uchiha stick from his little Uchiha ass'. Itachi mentally shuddered, reminding himself to always be on his toes whenever Kisame and a bar were 5 miles within each other's reach.

'Itachi-senpai!' a voice cheerfully announced itself next to him. The massive wave of chakra that hit him could belong to only one person – the blonde menace.

'Fiona-san.' He greeted, not really looking at her, but continuing his observation of the various cabbages that were on display before him.

'Whatcha doin' here, Itachi-senpai?'

The pest was still here then.

'I am shopping.' Itachi answered curtly and calmly, though there was a defined coolness to his usually completely unemotional voice. Fia stared at him for a few moments, while Itachi noted that she had absolutely no trouble handling at least 25 kilograms worth of bags in her hands.

'You like cabbage, don't you, Itachi-senpai?' she had asked, more of a statement than a question. Her voice had been innocently cheerful, irking and poking at Itachi's sense of deception, even if he could not find a source of such a deception having ever occurred. In truth, Fia knew he liked cabbage because it had been said so in his profile page. 'Why don't you come over for dinner? I like having people about to enjoy my cooking. Kakuzu-senpai is especially partial to my fruit parfait and Hidan-senpai can almost ditch Jashinism for my pork chops.'

Why was she still talking?

'Deidara-senpai loves my version of Bakudan, especially when I make it a tad bit spicy…'

She kept talking, while making the occasional short break to hand the vendor the cabbages she had chosen plus other vegetables.

'…ssica-san just loves my meats cooked rare…'

He seriously considered using his Sharingan to put her to sleep again. Maybe he could get another glimpse of that thing he suspected he might've seen.

'…actually I think she prefers it even raw in comparison to Rose's medium rare…'

He finally glanced at her.

'Actually the only reason I serve her steak rare instead of completely raw is because some of us don't like looking at her pretending to be a pre-…'

She had the upmost serious and thoughtful expression on her face, as if discussing the mysteries of life with him. Then again it was a complete and utter ridiculous monologue about food of all things.

'…Konnan-senpai is really mean sometimes. I still cook for her as well, though. You never know when my cooking would change her opinion…'

Why was she even daring to speak to him again?

'And You-know-Who is a big fan of my cookies. Got us out of one or two tight spots those brownies, they did…' She was obviously talking about Leader-sama, though the way she said You-Know-Who made him think there was an inner joke afoot.

'…-re you are, cabbage lover. I know that look anywhere! It's the same MJ used when a friend of ours showed us how to…'

And how did she peg him on the spot that he liked cabbage? Even his mother hadn't known his favorite food, for Kami's sake. Wait. Was he starting to actually listen to her mad rantings?

'…can cook 27 different types of cabbage recipies…'

That definitely got his attention. Did she just say…

' 27?'

'Yep. I spent 3 years of my life learning the way of the cuisine. Cuisine-do. For the lulz.'At that point she actually cackled at her own lame joke. 'You know, you can come for dinner tonight at my place. MJ and Rose will be there and Kakuzu promised to turn up as well. Hidan can't come for some undisclosed reason and Kakuzu still refuses to tell me why. He said it wasn't mission related, so I didn't see any problem in pestering him about it.'

Itachi glanced at Fiona again. During some point of her incessant blabbering they had started moving down the street while she kept buying things here and there. It wasn't that her voice was like his own monotonous drone but he just couldn't find in himself the will power to not find her annoying. In fact, he was sure she was doing it on purpose. Only that she was just so natural at doing it. And she could cook cabbage in 27 different ways. The idea nearly sent shivers down his spine. Old Lady Jinpachi Munashi's Grandma knew how to cook cabbage in three ways. And he had ate cabbage prepared in those three ways alone for several years. The thought of copying all those ways of preparing cabbage off of her…it was tantalizing. It taunted his sense of ninja pride and his desire to make her shut up once and for all by a single glimpse into her eyes…

'Please, Itachi-senpai! Come on over! I enjoy having someone new to cook for! And since you love cabbage so much, I will prepare it in several different way especially for you!' She smiled softly at him, the same smile that was present in every single female magazine's front page. It was inviting, pleading and encouraging at the same time. No one could refuse such a perfect smile. Oh…she was so good at subterfuge. But not good enough to grasp the one and only Uchiha Itachi into her web of intrigue and who knows what else.

'Very well. I shall arrive at 7 in the evening.' Itachi finally conceded, perfectly aware that she was probably going to pester him for the rest of his stay there. The fact that Kakuzu was going to be present was what tipped the scales in her favor. That and Hidan was not going to be present. He was almost as notorious for his gossiping skills as Kakuzu's greed and cheapness.

With that being said, the Uchiha quickly made his escape from the blonde menace. It would be 5 minutes later, in his own apartment, when he would finally realize that he managed to buy nothing at all.

_***End of flashback***_

'Uchiha Itachi?' the pale girl became even more pale as her eyes widened like saucers. She quickly looked at her attire which was comprised of a short T-shirt, her panties and her flip flops. That would not do! What if he was watching them right now!

MJ sped out of the kitchen and Fia's apartment like a rocket, and Fia would not see her for the next several hours.

_**A/N: Before you speed off to search what are the foods I've mentioned, Luscious Bulgogi is Korean Stir Fry with fruit (Kiwi or Asian Pear in particular) and Bakudan is Eggs boiled in Surimi. I think that the image I've started making of Kisame will put him in a bit more realistic light. I've based him slightly on a fellow high school student of mine who was exceptionally tall, blunt and not to mention the perpetual hunger. I also take into account his traits as well (Kisame's) and I will make sure that they're present when I officially introduce him into the story and through the girls' eyes. I want to apologise for the long wait but I wanted to make the last scene perfect and it had taken me two weeks of reworking that flashback to make it just right. I wanted to present the Stalking of the Old Lady Jinpachi Munashi's 105 year old Grandmother a lot more detailed and filled with humor but I've decided against it. It's not that relevant and considering just WHERE I am in my story I want to have at least some progress. Whatever plans I make are usually sabotaged by my own strive for perfection. At least I am not giving up. You should give me brownie points for that!**_

_**So, this was it, one of my longer chapters. I hope I get some nice reviews about it, as the last one got only the measely three or four : I may sound like a Review whore but my life long dream (one of many) is to enter the 1k+ Naruto Fanfic community. That and being the typical Leo, I like praise and constructive criticism.**_

_**And next chapter is going to be interesting… what with all the culture and stuff that will be presented.**_


	50. Prelude to an Eclipse

**Chapter 50**

_**A/N: Chapter 50 is massive and I must say I worked on it on and off for a week or so. It has so many things in it that I fear I broke my brain while trying to make sure I didn't accidentally change anything that has been written previously in my fanfiction. Still, I feel this chapter finally done and I hope that I you will find it interesting. As soon as I finish my exams, I shall quickly make sure that I get at least somewhere near the bloody Chuunin exams. They're what I deem to be the end of the first part. I am practically excited at the idea of having the first part finally complete. So much work and sacrifice went into all of this that I feel strangely relieved at that prospect. Anyways, enjoy and don't forget to REVIEW!**_

Dinner at Fiona's apartment had always been something to look forward to at the end of the day. Kakuzu could even eat without his mask, as neither of the girls would even give his stitches a second glance. As he prepared to go to the blonde's apartment, he felt almost…normal. There was a homey atmosphere in that flat that was brought by excellent hosting skills. He was never taken out of any conversation, no matter the topic and he enjoyed telling them stories from his youth. After all, who wouldn't enjoy the rapt attention of three beautiful women who had respect for their elders. Not that he felt himself to be that old. In fact he had the strength of heart of five young studs. No, really. He had 5 hearts of some of the best ninja he had come across in search of the ultimate bounty. And he was also tall. He ate for five men and at the end of a tiring mission there was nothing better than to spread himself in that comfy rocking chair he had bought last year really cheap. Well, the store clerk should've almost recovered by now… ahem.

Kakuzu's own residence was a nice little house in the somewhat-outer regions of Amegakure. If anyone looked at it, no matter the time or date, they'd see a typical civilian house of a somewhat well-off person or family, with a neatly trimmed front yard, tall neat fence surrounding it and a simple but exquisite gate. Despite being quite the cheap bastard, there was one thing that Kakuzu could not deny himself in his…well, old age. It was his comfort.

The house was small, two stories and with very basic and simple interior, befitting a shinobi. When one entered they would find themselves almost immediately in the living room. It lacked a television but the grand antique looking bookcase in its stead was nothing short of very impressive. There were tomes and scrolls carefully arranged in alphabetical order, some looking so ancient that they looked ready to fall apart. Some were newer, however, and all of the books in that single massive bookcase were rare and unique, some concerning the finer points of ninjutsu, while others were as obscure as the mysterious ways of the fate. All in all Kakuzu was an avid reader and a man who understood the true worth of things.

Things like money. You could practically do everything with money. Including providing one's self with a comfortable life once they'd feel content with their career as a ninja. As Kakuzu idly relaxed in his ungodly comfortable rocking chair, he found himself thinking about these things rather preparing for his visit to Fiona's apartment. He got up, sighing slightly at the loss of his beloved comfort and took to the upper floor, where his bedroom was situated. A scant look at himself in the mirror placed above the dresser. Kakuzu had learnt that vanity would get a good, worth his money ninja nowhere. And considering his Earth Grudge Fear specialty… Well, he did not look in the mirror to check whether he looked good or not. It was just that his dark almost black brown hair was growing into his eyes and it was annoying. For him the options were two. Cut it up a bit with a few Kunai swings or just let it grow out.

Kakuzu grunted, annoyed by the strands of hair obscuring his vision, his intense green on red eyes glaring mercilessly at his image. He puffed, blowing away the offending thin locks and then quickly set his mind to putting on his mask. He was not going to work himself up for a few strands of hair. Hidan would have a field day, for as idiotic as he was, he was perhaps the most useless gossip-perceptive person he had ever met, and Kakuzu was pretty sure he had dinged the hundred a decade or so ago. And people wondered why he had short temper. In Hidan's case, it was his big mouth which he had no idea how to close. And Kakuzu was perfectly sure that the schizophrenic Jashinist could outdo any gossiping housewife on the territory of the Elemental Countries. And that constant bitching. No wonder he 'divorced' 3 times. The last pretty much left him on her own accord. It was some 12 years ago but if the bitch was still alive then they'd still be married. Kakuzu mentally rolled his eyes at his musings and set up his mask, ready to leave his home.

The weather outside was damp, fresh from the slight raining that had occurred for exactly 37 minutes, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for Ame so Kakuzu paid it no heed. Swiftly he moved from roof to roof until he got to the heavily industrial part of Amegakure, where he discarded roof jumping for simply walking towards his destination. The girls' apartments were close enough and he found himself in front of Fiona's door in no time.

The tall ninja knocked three times, his calloused with training and what not hands causing three distinct rappings upon the wooden door. It took only a second to hear the blonde's ever cheerful voice.

'Give me a second, Kakuzu-sempai!' and a moment later she opened the door, nearly bouncing on her heels in her excitement, her azure eyes twinkling with energy and her heavy front bounced with her slightly jumpy movements. Her hair was styled in two low and well-combed tails, while her garments looked a bit more formal, or rather less casual than usual. She was also wearing an apron with a ridiculous looking (by his opinion) yellow flower with a childish smiley face on it, which seemed to have several equally ridiculous looking zombies ( of all things) and a few other peculiarly stylized plant life. All portraying various smiley faces. All of which were equally disgusting for his tastes.

Beneath the otherwise completely white and sterile apron she was wearing a simple peach-colored blouse of a soft material and an official looking black skirt that was just above her knees in length. Her look was complimented by the simple black high-heeled shoes she had chosen for the evening. If Kakuzu could make a wild guess, Fia was trying to look relatively normal, if almost business-like and appealing to almost any kind of person.

'You look like a fancy shopping commercial model.' Kakuzu grunted, clearly unimpressed.

'And you look as healthy as a baby, Kakuzu-sempai! Please, come in.'

She even gave him a light bow. What was she playing at…again?

'Any particular reason for sporting the newly-wed housewife look that buys everything from shopping commercials?' The tall ninja was trying to make a point, at least to find out why she was wearing this…weird for her outfit. Not that she didn't pull it off. She just pulled off the look remarkably well. He'd think of her if he ever decided to get into advertising anything.

'To be honest, Kakuzu-sempai, we have an additional guest tonight and MJ told me to at least make an effort to look normal and not annoy him.' There was a very miniscule grimace for a couple of seconds on her face. Apparently, she did not enjoy looking normal. 'I had to get these from Rose's apartment. I don't have any clothes of this type.

Kakuzu blinked once.

'Is Jessica bringing a date here tonight?'

'Actually, I invited him.'

'So you are having a date?' Kakuzu was starting to get annoyed. He was expecting to have some nice dinner with lots of piece and quiet and some enticingly intellectual conversations with the girls. Chaperoning was not part of his plans for the night.

'Er, no, Kakuzu-sempai. I invited Itachi-sensei since he looked kinda on the lanky side and I am pretty sure he'd do with a few more pounds on his bones. And he is sickly pale. I mean, even MJ is pale but at least she doesn't look sickly. Anyways, it isn't a date but…' Fia cleared her throat and gave a pointed look towards where MJ's apartment was.

'So you are playing matchmaker?' there was a warning hint of annoyance in his voice.

'It always makes life a bit more interesting when you meddle with people's affairs, ne, Kakuzu-sempai?' she gave him a deviously cheeky grins, finally erasing the incredibly out of place for her pleasant smile.' And I'd think they'd be really good for each other. Just pretend you don't know anything about this because MJ will kill me on the spot.' And it was at that point that her face was marred with a bit more than a hint of urgency.

Finally, after several tense seconds, Kakuzu sighed. There was no point in winding himself when dinner would be a pleasant event. The Uchiha had always struck him as the quiet and calm type and he doubted that the dinner would be ruined because of him.

Truth be told, Fia had come up with these plans somewhere in between stuffing the carefully prepared for cooking fish and slicing up the first two cabbages. Furthermore Itachi did look pale but there was no way one could tell if he was sick or not. In Fia's head it was perfectly acceptable to start inquiring about his health as soon as possible. It was also perfectly acceptable to… 'nudge' things in the right direction. Then again, in her book, vivisecting herself was also perfectly acceptable.

Her plans for the night had been simple. Have dinner. But with the addition of Itachi there was no way she wouldn't be weaving webs of intrigue to satisfy her ever bubbling curiosity. It was for that reason that Kakuzu had found himself seated at one of the two end-of-table seats, surrounded by a perfectly clean apartment with the amazingly homey atmosphere. Even the curtains looked brand new and freshly washed and ironed. The white table cloth was also in pristine condition. All of the plates and cutlery were placed in perfect order and to top it all off there was the enticing fragrance of flowers coming from the carefully arranged vase that had been placed upon the desk that was on the other side of the living room. Despite everything having been bought from the local stores, Kakuzu could not help himself but feel surrounded by luxury.

'Do you like it, Kakuzu-sempai?' Fia asked as she removed the ridiculous apron from herself. 'At least my mother's constant nagging to know this and that about hosting anything is finally paying off.' Her tone was slightly odd, as if unsure whether she wanted to be proud of herself for achieving such a lovely environment or uncomfortable from the extreme likeness she had achieved between herself and her mother. In fact she did indeed feel awfully awkward for dressing exactly like her mother would. She hadn't realized there was such a likeness until she had seen herself in the full-size mirror stationed in the corridor where the front door was. It had been an unpleasantly startling experience. Up until now Fia had never found any remarkable likeness to her mother, even though they were both blonde and blue eyed. But Fia's mother, Jubilation, was of pale complexion and of Dark Blonde color of her hair, which she would later on dye. Fia, in all honesty was almost a carbon copy of her grandmother. The exact same shade of Brazilian tan and the exactly same shapes that formed her voluptuous body. The only difference was her brilliant blonde hair which she had inherited from the Johnson line and her intense azure eyes, which also happened to be a hereditary Johnson trait.

But as she was now, dressed in such a way and using the same mannerisms her mother had worked hard to imprint on her… she could see her mother and not so much her grandmother in the mirror. There was that same keen cold calculating intelligence gleaming in her eyes like her mother's and there was that unmistakable air of superiority. Her mother was a business shark through and through, and Fia knew fairly well from whom she had inherited her ruthlessness, no matter how hard her mother would try to deny it.

Kakuzu, on his part, dully noted that this was probably the first time she had mentioned her family for all the time she and her two friends had spent here in Amegakure. He firmly believed the girl this not have a good relationship with them. Time to find out then, he mused.

'Was your mother a housewife?' he asked, his voice completely normal.

'Um, no, Kakuzu-sempai. She is a businesswoman. You'd like her. She's really good at making money.' Fia's voice was slightly tinged by her unease on the subject. She also felt a pinch of excitement from him asking her about her family.

'And your father. What does he do?'

'My father is an architect, Kakuzu-sempai. He and my uncle, his twin brother, both. Though Uncle rarely practices his profession. He is a bit more like mum. He travels around the world making deals and stuff.'

'What kind of deals?'

Trust Kakuzu to take interest in that.

'I'm not really sure. My cousin, Hatorri, said that he sells whatever people want. But he only started working like that some 5 years ago so I doubt Hatorri knows any details. They're divorced. His parents, I mean.'

All the while they chatted, Fia fluttered around the table, placing this and that here, and generally adding the final touches before anyone else came. Kakuzu was generally always half an hour early than the appointed hour which suited Fia just fine. Sometime all of them would start dinner early and sometimes, just like now, they'd hang around while she would prepare. Fia figured Kakuzu enjoyed those bits of normalcy and homey-ness. She could understand it. It was why she was doing it. To take her mind off the fact that there was a chance she'd never see home again.

'You don't sound too fond of your family.'

Fia paused for a second just as she was preparing to place a well-folded cloth next to a plate. Then she gingerly placed it and sighed audibly.

'They're… ok, I guess. It's just that it's not easy being…well, me in such an environment. Mum is always about how I shouldn't cause trouble and dad is always disappointed when he has to talk with a teacher or a parent of an offended party or something. They just had different expectations of me and I let them down.' Fia cleared her throat, looking quite uncomfortable. But Kakuzu prodded still.

'What kind of family do you come from? They sound quite well-off. Upper-class.'

'They are upper-class. At least that's what they think. To be honest, most of my friends come from such environments. Except Tifa, of course, but she is one hell of a chilly pepper. You'd like her. She'd kick Hidan-sempai's ass any time of day.' Fia grinned wickedly at the mental image.' She can mouth him off too. She's really ruthless and to the point and she is perfectly punctual. She is a strong woman and I really admire her for succeeding where it is considered mostly men's territory.' A warm smile spread on her face and there was something akin to pride. 'You'd really like her, Kakuzu-sempai.'

Her words died down as she seemed to play through some good memories. Fia finished preparing the final touches and went into the kitchen to check if everything is ready there as well. Kakuzu watched her intently. For the six months in which Pein-sama had given them the mission, there was finally some real progress. She knew the boy who had mysteriously appeared in Konoha and the woman with the red headed child who had also suddenly been found out of nowhere in Suna. And all of them had been found after a sudden burst of energy, so akin to a powerful chakra pulse and yet so different. He figured he'd ask her more about them some other day. Furthermore, the fact that she not only knew Hatorri but he also had turned out to be her cousin…and there were all those other people who had appeared as well, out of nowhere. Kakuzu was fairly certain that he could bet all of his money on the fact that she might know all or almost all of the people who had appeared.

And her two friends, Rose and MJ, were not as talkative as she was. At least that was one thing Pein had been right about. She was a constant source of information. Of all kinds.

Someone knocked on the door and Fia headed that way. Then quickly returned to put away the flame vynil covered toaster she had been holding for some reason.

'I'm coming! Hold your llamas!' she shouted and opened the door.

'Heya Rose!' she smiled at her friend.

'Ah, so my assumptions had been wrong. Apparently it wasn't Jessica but you who had stolen my favourite peach turtleneck blouse.'

'Yeah, well. I needed something a bit more formal to wear and MJ said she'd turn me inside out if I didn't look at least moderately presentable.'

'You look like your mother. Except for the twin tails. You should've pulled your hair into a bun for full effect.' Rose spoke calmly, but Fia still gave her a bit of an uncomfortable look. She had had her hair in a bun, but the likeness had been too much.

'I can't help my genes and this is for MJ so don't hold it against me, Miss I-was-a-punk-at-Harvard.' Fia sent her way a mischievous grin.

'Now you look more like herself. Your mom would've been proud to finally see you wear proper clothes. Then again Hell would freeze over before that would happen.' Rose shook her head at the weird relationship Fia had with her parents. Everything was always awkward when they tried to be normal with each other.

'Anyways, come on in and pick a seat. Kakuzu-sempai is already here.'

Rose nodded at her blonde friend and entered.

She was also wearing clothes that were similar to Fia's style. She was currently dressed with a low cut oval neck blouse in white with well ironed black boutique trousers which she had tailored herself at some point few months ago. She also had simple black high heels on her feet. Her hair was well groomed and styled very neatly. She also wore very little make up, which accented pleasantly her Rinnegan gray eyes. Kakuzu would've felt out of place if he cared about his look.

'MJ left me a note saying to dress a bit more fancier than usual. What's the big deal, Fia?' She took the seat on Kakuzu's right, nodding her recognition of him.

'I convinced Itachi-sensei to come for dinner.' Fia said simply, still gushing over all of the food in the kitchen. 'I thought that a bit of Student-Teacher relationship-time wouldn't hurt anybody.'

Kakuzu held back a snort.

'And Kakuzu is here to chaperone? You do realize that you practically invited him here so that you can get in his good graces, right?'

'And get his autograph, yes.'

This time Kakuzu really did snort.

'MJ and Itachi-sensei should be here any moment now.' Fia stated, while glancing at her wrist watch. She went back to what she was doing and then suddenly turned to look at her watch again. 'Rose! There will be a Lunar Eclipse in three days! Why the hell didn't you tell me! Now I have to rush the prepa-'

There were two knocks on the door and Fia rushed to open, he face still in a very slight scowl.

'Good evening, Itachi-sensei! Im glad you came! Come on in!'

'Hn'

Itachi glanced at her attire and felt a slight sense of foreboding. Fia showed him the way to the table where he sat himself on Kakuzu's right side after a short greeting between the two. He was dressed in the typical for him ninja shirt and pants and ninja sandals. His eyes were black, which was rare to see. Fia vaguely wondered if he was seeing things ok. She'd pester him about that as well, but she had no way of knowing what exactly was the Sharingan…Then again she would have to ask Sasori about it. He was pretty much the source of information she sought whenever ninja stuff was concerned. Or whenever she had one wacky idea or the other.

Almost as soon as everyone had sat down and Fia had started to bring out the first course, there was a knock on the door.

'That's propably MJ.' Fia said and went over to the door. 'I'm coming!' she shouted and quickly opened the door.

She blinked.

Michael was standing almost leisurely, with the strangest expressions Fia had ever seen on her face- a gentle welcoming, friendly, warm smile. She was also dressed in what Fia could describe as some of her best clothes here and there wasn't a single piece of ANYTHING at all out of place. Her hair was styled in a perfect, tight low bun, there was make up in her face in just the right amount and in all the right places. If Fia didn't know better she would've seriously consider checking MJ's pulse just in case she had turned vampire over the course of several hours.

She was…sparkling?

'Maa,maa. Today is a strange day. Come in, MJ.'

The black-haired girl remained silent as she passed by Fiona. When Fia showed her to her seat ( next to Itachi, of course) she noticed that Kakuzu had removed his mask from his face and his unusual red with greed irises eyes were twinkling with smugness. Apparently he enjoyed intrigue as much as any ninja.

The busty blonde vaguely wondered for a few moments what Itachi thought. After that she promptly returned to distributing the first course- a fancy-looking salad that she was sure would appeal to any ninja or ninja-wannabe. It was a chef salad. It was made of sliced wheels of hard-boiled eggs, strips of roast beef, croutons, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese, which was crumbled, all placed upon a bed of tossed cabbage. The dressing on this salad was Thousand Island dressing, or at least the closest variation of it that Fia could come up with. All in all it was a vitamin and protein bomb for the taste buds.

'You may dig in.' The blonde declared with a slightly noble-ish improvisation, while she herself hovered about her guests to pour them freshly squeezed fruit juice and sake. After that she finally sat down herself, each and every one of her movements and actions the epitome of perfect mannerisms.

As MJ sat on the other side of Itachi, so did Fia seat herself next to Rose. About halfway through the salad did a conversation start. The blonde always found that as a good sign. It meant that people were enjoying her cooking.

'A chef salad Fia? And here I was thinking we were going to eat fish. I could smell the scent of it cooking all the way across the street.'

'Well, Rosey, This is just the first course. We have a whole gourmet to go through.' Fia grinned triumphantly and then looked at Itachi who was eating silently.

Rose gave MJ a pointed look. The black haired girl pretended not to notice, while Kakuzu was covering up a smirk with his cup of sake.

'Is there a reason there is so much food again?' Rose asked seriously.

She was probably the most mature of the three, as she was, well, the most mature of the three. And she sensed that there was something going on that she couldn't quite put her finger on it. A gourmet for no reason? Itachi showing up for one of Fia's dinners? MJ glowing like the vampires of Twilight she loved to read about so much? Fia was playing matchmaker and she would have yet another chat with her about respecting people's right for privacy.

'Yep! Itachi-sensei loves cabbage!' She declared with a wide grin. A snort escaped from Kakuzu.

'Seriously, how do you know what people like to eat? You're either psychic or you spy on people.' The tall man took another generous sip from his cup with sake. He found the entire situation utterly and completely ridiculous. It was a subtle idiocy, the type of which he had come to enjoy watching resolve over the years.

'Well, Kakuzu-sempai, I spent several years studying the way of the Cuisine.' Fia sniggered. 'Cuisine-do. Anyways, people look happier when they think about or see something they like. And people are so easy to read.' The blonde rolled her eyes.

Itachi ever so minutely glanced at her and then continued eating silently.

'Yes, even you Itachi-sensei.' She concluded sagely and took a bite from her salad. 'You currently are expressing mild interest not to mention the ever popular deadpan 'busted'.' She grinned like a Cheshire cat. 'Oh, and I know you just love cabbage of all sorts because you were staring at them, going full out deadpan-' at this point she got up from her seat, completely ignoring the death glare daggers shot by a mildly Hinata-improvising MJ. She started flaying her hands and jumping and then hunching over and seemingly looking over what seemed to be imaginary shinies. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she squealed and giggled. 'Oooh! So many cabbages! Which one should I take? They're all so awesome and there's too many to pick from.' At that point she imitated fainting but before she could fall on the floor she straitened herself as if she just didn't make the entire table completely silent with her antics. 'Well, that's what I would do, but you'd be feeling mildly content that you'd be eating cabbage as soon as you buy it and then cook it.'

For several seconds Itachi contemplated whether he should waste his chakra on her by trapping her in Tsukiyomi or not. Finally, he decided that since she had spent so much time to cook all that cabbage for his sake, he should at least let her stay conscious until the end of this apparently impromptu dinner party.

Suddenly her attention was drawn on something on himself which made him turn his attention to her.

'Is there something on me, Fia-san?' he asked politely, while staring at her intensely, carefully controlling his expression as not to glare at her at all.

'Ne, Itachi-sensei! You have an awesome tattoo there!'

MJ looked murderous and Rose resisted the urge to face palm herself with all her might. Fia was doing it again. She was rubbing Itachi the wrong way.

'The swirly tattoo you got there on your left arm!' The blonde pointed enthusiastically, while her eyes never leaving its target or blinking.

'This is my ANBU tattoo from the time when I was still loyal to Konoha.' That was probably Itachi's longest sentence since…ever (to Fia at least).

'ANBU? Maa, maa, Itachi-sensei! You were part of Konoha's Special Assassination and Tactical Squad? I've read about them! All of the Great Five have some form of ANBU. Like in Kiri. They have a Hunter-nin division!'

But before anyone had a chance to say anything, she quickly continued.

'And in Iwagakure I've read they have a special Explosives team! Oh, and before I forget to mention this! They have this awesome natural phenomenon in Iwa, called Rock Rain! I so wanna see it! But from a safe distance or under some form of cover, you know. You don't want to get soaked by that rain. It's rock rain after all.'

Her monologue continued for a little while longer.

'-I mean how can you use only iron for weapons and armour plates? Everybody knows that Kevlar is WAY better. Even carbon fibers beat the crap out of the standard metals. But why do I even bother with you people? It's like I'm living in the stone age, I swear! I mean, come on! Iron? As much as it is awesome when it comes to conducting chakra and everything, Copper does a much better job, though it is so bloody soft so I get it why you don't use it anymore.-'

And so she went on for another five minutes.

'-metals. You know. Heavy metal pigments. You use them for your inks. Sasori-san said that ninja use special pigments and ingredients for the seal inks. I don't immediately understand why that is so but I guess with chakra everything is a little bit weirder and more different than with normal civilian stuff. Even your sense of fashion. I went by the ninja equipment shop. And on the other side there was a civilian clothes shop. The difference was astounding. You can pin point ninja from normal civilians just by looking at the fabric of their clothes and the way they walk. It's those tiny stuff that gets everyone. Just like what happened with Mariko-sensei. Remember when I told her she was going out of shape since she was like a beacon of light among the civilians? She was like super insulted. Maybe I should've been a bit more gentle in my approach…'

Fia started clearing out the empty salad plates.

'So, about that swirly tattoo of yours, Itachi-sensei.'

Rose let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Trust Fia to go on and on about insignificant stuff and then to finally remember what she was raving about in the first place. She was sure, just by the attentive interested expressions on both of the ninja's faces that they weren't actually paying any attention. She'd be impressed if they could even remember what was her original topic. Unlike them, Rose had had some 7 years to learn how to communicate with the hyper megalomaniac of a pyromaniac that was Fiona, the child-prodigy. That training had come in handy on many official dinners.

'What about it?' Itachi blinked and looked carefully at Fiona, who again had focused her azure gaze upon his left arm.

Fia promptly plotted her left elbow on the table and then used her left arm to support her head, as she still gazed unblinkingly at his tattoo. Itachi idly wondered why he didn't take a long-sleeves shirt.

'Since you ninja use special inks for seals, does that mean special ink was used for the making of that tattoo?' She used her free right hand to gingerly point at the swirly pattern.

'Hm. That's actually a very sound question.' Kakuzu added his two cents and went back to slowly eating his way through the delicious salad.

'What makes you think that, Fiona-san?' Itachi finally asked, just to be on the side of caution.

'Well, since everything is so special with you ninja, that means that the ink for the tattoo was special. That being said, since you used to be ANBU, Itachi-sensei, it naturally makes me think that the tattoo is not just a tattoo but probably some traditional seal or something that only you ANBU use.'

'Fia, short version, please.' Rose warned, thought her voice was calm and content as always.

'Ok, ok. Sheesh. I just wanted to know if baikaboku was used or not.' Fia creased her eyebrows in slight annoyance, the peeved look oddly reminding Rose of her mother even more so. And given the girl's strange thought processes, she was sure that asking about the Japanese tattoo ink made of cooking oil soot, was probably the beginning of another science-based tirade.

'After all,' she continued in an as-a-matter-of-factly tone' it's a long lasting tattoo and it's better than the other ink that was also frequently used, sakurazumi. And the reason I am talking about this. I am getting to it quickly, L-chan, see? Anyways, the reason. Ahem. The ink used typically for calligraphy, which is used for the more common seals to an extent is not good for tattoos as the color doesn't last long. I have the feeling that chakra keeps the 'tattoo' in its splendid state for the selected amount of time or whatever. The thing is. If a seal is tattooed onto the skin as opposed to simply binding the seal the normal way, would that make the seal permanent in terms of function and not just the ink and form themselves?'

Even MJ, who was trying her best to look irresistibly gorgeous and not look as a fangirl at the same time, perked up at Fia's question. It was probably one of those that she had somewhere on that list of things she wanted to ask. The raven-headed girl could clearly remember those many hours spent theory crafting about these stuff. The primary thing about the question was based upon some of the seals they've seen, or namely Orochimaru and Kabuto's snake summon tattoos. It would settle one of the many problems surrounding ninjutsu for the otakus. Jessica dared to glance up to Itachi and she saw him looking ever so slightly thoughtful. She was certain the answer to that question was fairly easy, considering everything. It was far more likely that he was mulling over whether he would tell her anything and how much. Kakuzu was looking over the scene with amusement. His stitched up face was stretched by a small smirk that was gracing his lips. His green eyes with red whites were flickering from face to face with a glint of devious entertainment. His dark chestnut colored hair was slightly covering his eyes, giving him an even more predatory look. It was strange, MJ realized, how they were all sitting at a table like that. She had come to have these moments of revelation every now and then during dinners with any of the Akatsuki members. They all shared this … inhuman-ness. She had no other word for it. Even Itachi, who's calm and tranquil form did not show any form of aggression in any way. The complete and total lack of emotion was what made him seem more like a tool of war than a living breathing human being. It almost sent barely suppressed chills down her spine. Seeing him here like this, sitting next to her and eating calmly, an everyday thing. It didn't fit him. He'd probably look more in place among the lush forests of Rain or even Konoha. It was all he had ever known. Even when he was still an official ninja of Konoha. No wonder he hated war so much. No wonder he sacrificed so much. Itachi suddenly glanced her way and MJ quickly turned to look at her almost empty plate with salad, a slight blush covering her cheeks. She felt stupid about it. He'd probably think she was just another fangirl.

The discussion about tattoos and seals continued on as Fia served the second course which seemed to be some form of stuffed cabbage soup which she was fairly certain was of Balkan origins. It looked delicious though. The small lumps of prepared rice wrapped carefully with the cabbage leaves and placed upon a bed of some kind of sauce. Despite the fact it was a salty meal, the stuffed cabbage rolls or whatever they were called ( Fia had mentioned the word that had been used for them had been 'surmi' which was roughly spoken as 'suh-mee'), there were bits and pieces of several dry fruits and even finely cut pieces of mushroom in them. They were fantastic and MJ was sure that Itachi had appreciated the strange dish immensely, as he had been the first to finish with it. He even asked for a second, despite Fia's warning that there were several more courses to go through. And he might not have room as he was 'all skin and bones, and sickly looking'. The comment had peeved Itachi but he kept quiet as he slowly ate through his second serving of the strange dish.

Finally, it was revealed that, since seals were so versatile, one could even use them in the forms of tattoos, especially for commonly used jutsu, like summoning. The three girls vaguely wondered if he had been referring to Orochimaru's seal. But that had not been the most important bit of info for the night, as Fia delved further, for some reason, into the tattoo business and promptly took over all conversation, describing the purposes, pros and cons of the different types of tattoo inks and so on.

Even Itachi looked especially fascinated when Fia started describing the blacklight type tattoos. They were tattoos that were visible only after being lit by a blacklight lamp- a lamp that produces UV light. She continued with listing some of the more useful ways of applying this radical sounding to the two Akatsuki tattoo. She also noted, to the discomfort of Rose and MJ and the mild irritation of Itachi and Kakuzu, that she was relieved by the fact they at least knew about the light spectrum.

She always sounded like the ninja were some sort of primitive barbarians and MJ hoped that they didn't take her jabs too seriously. Poor Fia had tried to keep her mouth shut about some things but even MJ had to agree that they had some extremely serious holes in their scientific development. Apparently chakra substituted for a lot of things that they took for granted back at home. Only some ninja, like, for example, Tsunade, Orochimaru and Sasori knew on a deeper level what DNA looked like, while most ordinary Medical ninja knew mostly how to patch up and heal a scar. Plastic surgery was also a supreme form of cosmical jest simply because it required the immense precision and knowledge that only the most powerful medical ninja could possess. Everything was chakra this and chakra that. Even medicines, poisons, antidotes were based in some way on chakra conducting or chakra enhancing ingredients and apart from alcohol and some non-organic toxins it was nigh impossible for them to find out the cause for anything. Indeed, chakra ran that deep into their system.

As in this universe things were run by a feudal society normal people would most likely know nothing and the only reason ninja knew anything was either by way of their own research, spying or by being born into a clan that specializes into some sort of ninja art or something. Furthermore, even the most powerful ninja had absolutely no weight what so ever in comparison to the actual ruling party- the feudal lords and ladies, and, especially, the Daimiyo of the given country. Ninja villages were special with only the fact that they had no nobility what so ever to speak of. Only ninja clans whose prestige was determined by their Kekkei Genkai or their trick of the trade. But even that was in some countries. In Kiri those with blood lines were hunted down like animals, while in Suna, as Sasori had quite elaborately put it, they had a very low number to begin with and whether one was part of a clan or not didn't matter because no one could pay for your missions if you were not strong or talented enough to be an official shinobi of the hidden Sand village.

This kind of things were supremely appalling a realization to the quite liberal blonde. MJ had been sure that her wacky friend could've even shot lightning from her azure eyes, powered only on her internal horrified outrage. And now, several months after that particular realization, it was a small wonder that she hadn't tried to convince Pein of the usefulness of pure science. She hadn't tried. Yet. MJ was sure that would happen soon enough though.

While the raven head's primary thoughts were concentrated on appearing as normal but interesting as possible to Itachi, her secondary thoughts were turned towards finding a suitable addition to the currently hot topic of how needles felt from a professional modern tattoo art pistol in comparison to the traditional bamboo stick that they used here. It wasn't hard to contribute. MJ had been raised by medics after all.

'I don't see why you complain so much about the inks, Fia. Perhaps due to the mechanism whereby the skin's immune system encapsulates pigment particles in fibrous tissue, tattoo inks have been described as "remarkably nonreactive histologically".' MJ slightly raised her eyebrows, as to emphasize her statement, while Fia rolled her eyes.

'Says you.'

'Says the entire medical community'

'Says the percent of people who got complications from getting a tattoo. A percent that is just too damn high.' There was a childish finality in the blonde's voice which made Rose facepalm herself and Kakuzu shook his head at her antics as he chuckled silently. Itachi did not react in any way.

'Fia, when it comes to other people, you wouldn't give a damn if a person killed themselves or they were killed-'

'They're dead either way, MJ.'

'You'd find out the truth if only for your curiosity's sake. My point is that when you yourself are concerned you either disregard all possible risks or you completely turn any, even if minute, risk into a full blown expected result.'

MJ wasn't usually so lengthy in her explanations but how do you tell Fia, especially in front of a public, that the only reason she knew and blabbed so much about tattoo inks was because she herself had gotten one, the now missing Kyuubi seal tattoo on her belly, which had made both her, Leopold and Hatorri endure some of the more incessant whining sessions of Fiona's. It just wasn't convenient enough to explain that she did not have a tattoo anymore and ninja were experts at picking up any form of nanoscopic inconsistencies. Furthermore, Fia had nearly managed to convince their Kakuzu cosplayer to tattoo the sclera of his eyes red. Apparently it was perfectly acceptable in Fia's book to have other people suffering several weeks of constant stinging in their eyes, not to mention how delicate a manipulation Eyeball tattooing was. She would know. After all her mother was an Ophthalmologist, a doctor that specialized in dealing with eyes. And she performed such cosmetically restorative eye manipulations and even did purely cosmetic ones as well, though not really often. Eyeball tattoos were not very popular in Europe yet.

Fia was not grinning like a Cheshire cat and MJ promptly understood that she was particularly smug at that moment because she had finally peaked outside of her Itachi-proximity-induced shy shell and was now taking proper involvement in the dinner's conversation. The raven head promptly suppressed the urge to scowl. At least she was good for cooking and that was one of the few saving graces Fia possessed in that particular moment.

'Just 'fess up already, Fia.' Jessica stated smoothly, a sly smirk appearing on her lips. 'The only reason you are talking about tattoos right now is Kakuzu.'

'Oh? Why'd you think that?' Fia asked a bit too innocently.

'Because you've discussed nearly every topic concerning tattooing except one.' There was a bit of a dramatic pause, but even MJ knew she could be excused for having such moments herself, especially when even Itachi was looking at her, deeply intrigued by what revelation she would pull out.

'Kakuzu-san. Did you tattoo your eyeballs?'

Again. There was a semi-stunned silence. Fia vaguely wondered if they even thought of the concept yet. So far among ninja the only tattoos she had heard about were either clan markings or seals. Furthermore, she suspected that Kakuzu's eyes were that color either due to the torture he had to endure after he had failed to kill Hashirama oh so many years ago, or an after effect of using the very powerful forbidden jutsu Earth Grudge Fear. Subconsciously Fia's mecha lover side beamed with pride. Every single one of Kakuzu's attacks were named after the mecha anime Mobile Suit Gundam.

'No. They're like that.' He said after a while. Then he kept looking at them, with calculating eyes, clearly measuring them up. 'How did you even come up with that? Who in their right minds would give money to tattoo their eyeballs? I cannot even think of an even worse way to get rid of money. And that could compromise one's ninja career.'

There was a scowl on his stitched face, making that usual crease between his eyebrow even deeper.

'Actually, Kakuzu-sempai, a lot of people would do that. Makes them different and some people consider that cool. Like your stitches. They're so bloody wicked! Oh, and it's not that dangerous…' Fia emphasized on the word 'that' and MJ raised her eyebrows incredulously.

'Fia, would you yourself get an eyeball tattoo if it was so awesome?' MJ asked with a slightly annoyed note in her voice.

'Erm, no. Because the stinging would be a bitch and I'm a wiggler.'

Rose snorted in a very un-lady-like fashion at the blonde's serious statement.

'I'm sorry.' She exclaimed merrily through giggles.' It's just that… it's funny because it is true!' and she giggled away some more.

Fia grinned as well at everyone and even MJ managed a small amused smile. Itachi did not react and Kakuzu just shook his head at their antics, preferring to enjoy his meal rather than get angry at the weird things that the girls occasionally did and said. But the food was always good. And being a missing nin as long as he had been meant that he had come to appreciate the good food and the hospitality. He always found himself thinking about it whenever he visited.

'Anyways. I would get an eyeball tattoo only if its blacklight.' There was an amused twinkle in Fia's eyes. 'I'd be like going to bed and all that jazz and mom will come and be all like 'Goodnight, honey. Don't get up again. I'll check you up and if you're on the computer again there will be repercussions.''

Rose and MJ simultaneously rolled their eyes. That was too spot on and with the look… They just didn't have the heart to tell her that she was cloning her mother.

'And when she turns off the lights I'd be all like looking up at her and my eyes will glow in the dark like a demon cat from doggy hell and she'd be all like 'Holy Mother of Jesus!' And that would be my allowance for like a year. But the look on her face? Priceless.' Fia sighed dreamily and then looked mock-serious. 'For everything else there is fwoosh.'

'Amen to that!' MJ exclaimed and raised her sake cup for a toast.

All in all the dinner was turning out to be a success in Fia's head and finally the main course was served. The stuffed fish placed on top of bed of thinly sliced stripes of cabbage. And Itachi, again, asked for seconds. In that ultra-polite, serious, emotionless voice of his.

When desert finally came ( Hungarian Cabbage strudel), MJ had mustered up the courage to finally talk about casual stuff with the Stoic and Emotionless one. Fia did not ask about his health (not much, apart from the occasional jab about being a sickly thin stick and then almost at the end of dinner to beware of cracks on the street. MJ had nearly decapitated her with an all-mighty Uchiha glare for that last one.).

The dinner ended with Kakuzu saying goodnight to everyone and Itachi taking several more minutes after that. He explained the details about their first actual training session. All three listened intently as he gave information on the whereabouts of the training field they would be using and then what kind of equipment he was expecting to see them in. He told both Fiona and MJ to get their hair styled in to tight buns or braids else they'd be dealing with untangling them or worse, an accidental kunai cut. Fia wondered idly if something like that had happened to him. She scrutinized his own hair cut which, unlike in the anime and manga, looked like a ponytail which he hadn't fixed in several days, with hairs sticking out from everywhere and those bangs of his really weren't as awesome looking as in the cartoon version of him. His pale complexion had nothing moonlight about it and he definitely didn't sparkle in sunlight. His eyes were only a slightly bit feminine, but only because he was so pale and his natural hair color was just so pitch black and his eye lashes just stuck out against the light color of his skin.

Itachi had a small mouth and very dark eyes. They did not seem so much emotionless as they seemed bored and tired. But Fia was sure that this worn out impression he was giving her was only due to the fact that she knew him so well from the manga and anime. He did not have a feminine jaw like in the pictures either. He was just so damn lanky and she was sure that even MJ would agree that he needed some meat on those bones. The T-shirt he was wearing appeared to be a typical dark shirt with only some patches of fishnet in it. He still wore typical ninja pants and sandals and they looked so really loose. Itachi was not anorexic or super thin or anything. But he would do with a few pounds. He was lanky. That was probably the best word to describe him. He even looked a bit nerdy, in Fia's opinion. Like those metal kids with the long hair and loose large T-shirts with their favorite metal bands' logos on the front and back. He had that look but not the attitude.

And last but not least, Fia reasoned, he definitely looked a lot more bad-ass with an Akatsuki cloak. No wonder he rarely took it off.

**LINELINELINELINELINE**

It was 2 am and the three girls were now quietly tidying up after the lengthy small dinner party they just had. There was a very miniscule smile tugging at MJ's lips as she washed the dishes. Rose was on her other side drying them up and placing them in stacks which later she would put away in their appropriate spots. Fia was not helping them, given that her back hurt from having to cook the entire afternoon and then play the good hostess.

She had propped herself on one of the chairs, slightly hunched over and legs spread, despite the skirt she was wearing and even though she was tired, she was mercilessly pouring her eyes and hands upon a precise schematic of what seemed to be some sort of lens. That day she never did have the chance to look up whatever she wanted to, so right now was a perfect as any moment to try and go through some work.

There was an occasional small talk, most of which discussed Itachi's looks and his decidedly polite attitude during dinner. They also talked about the apparent home spa procedures MJ had been through the whole afternoon, as she was glowing from head to toe. It was not a literal glow, but the sheer health and cleanliness aura about her was so thick it was palpable. Fia pitched in from time to time from her spot on the dining table, now covered with all kinds of paper, books, several small scrolls and drawing utensils and the like, as opposed to previously being covered by food and dining utensils.

The last thing they discussed before each headed for bed was the upcoming Lunar Eclipse and the possible connection with Akatsuki. They wondered if Pein would make some sort of statement for the event as it would be great for his PR, especially among the common folk and civilians.

Naturally, they were watched the entire time. By Itachi. And for the first time after meeting them, he had the tiniest hope in the back of his mind that they wouldn't be completely disastrous as a training group. Maybe. Maybe not. Either way he'd enjoy more of those meals. And it was a good excuse as any to keep tabs with the girls. Soon he would have to report his findings through an agent to Jiraiya and from there his report would go to the Hokage. With these thoughts, he departed for his own residence, where he went to sleep feeling oddly refreshed from the ordeal.

In another part of Amegakure, Kakuzu was waiting in front of Pein's office. He had a lot to talk about. Especially about the development that occurred during the dinner party.

**LINELINELINELINE**

The next several days came and went and they were almost uneventful. Pain had asked for their presence once and it hadn't been anything special. Fia, as always, had brought him food and as usual commented on how pale he looked and how he needed more sunshine. L-chan had kept up her training with one of the other Paths and MJ spent the majority of those several days carefully training as to not strain anything before their first training session with Itachi.

Sasori was still sulking about Deidara's absence. Sulking, because Fia had said so. But apart from that he had allowed her to use his workshop to make these lenses she wanted to make for the Lunar Eclipse. The Master Puppeteer found nothing interesting or captivating about the celestial bodies apart from using them as a means of navigation and he was a little peeved that she would be making something to 'look at them better'. She was basically making a useless spy glass, instead of helping him with maintenance. And that, in his books, was a glorious waste of time. But she had asked oh so politely and he was still trying to figure out what some 70% of the salvaged machine scraps were. He promptly couldn't figure out for the life of him what the engine was used for, and what kind of purpose it would have in the entire machine. Sadly enough, he had never seen it whole and working, and he hoped that by allowing her to build the useless glorified spyglass he would have the chance to discover this and that on his own. Even so, he'd muse, curse geniuses who wasted precious valuable time. His patience was always worn thin from the constant abuse of incompetence and no wonder the blonde brat had decided that he was sulking.

A tiny voice in the depths of his subconscious told him that she was basically right. He ignored that voice. Like when he ignored the voice that making the Third Kazekage his very own puppet was a good idea. He was his favorite puppet. The first time he managed to properly control the Iron Sand with the puppet he had felt as giddy as a five year old building and destroying castles made of moon sand. Not that Sasori knew what moon sand was. And even if he did, he would never admit to have knowledge of something so childish. And useless. And time wasting.

And he still hadn't gone over the time she made some 'vinyl' and promptly had decorated almost every single metal covered object in the three apartments the three girls lived in in stylized flames, skulls and what not as a tribute to someone called Hardy Ed. And there was absolutely nothing funny about the imbecilic idea of putting 'rims' on the now flame covered toaster. And they would be spinning every time the toast was done. There. Was. Nothing. Funny. About. Random. Idiotic. _**Time wasting. **_Imbecilic gadgets.

But he would live through that. As he managed to survive the first three months on their own with Deidara. It had been a trying experience. With many explosions. And that first sculpture. It had been a beautiful bird with almost realistic feather textures. It would have been there for centuries to come for the people to admire it. And the brat had blown it up.

Sasori almost missed the pyromaniac blonde. He had grown used to the small explosions the missing Iwa nin would let out every now and then and there was also that time he had blown himself up only to have turned out to be hidden somewhere while a clay clone took his place on the explosive side. That had been the one explosion he had liked, and the one he had regretted it hadn't finished Deidara off. He had imagined for those milliseconds how he would tell the tearful story of his suicidal youthful partner who blew himself up in the name of art. Again, milliseconds wasted on the useless and wistful thinking.

Apart from all the incompetence that surrounded him, the one thing that Sasori made note of ( that wasn't imbecilic or useless in his book) was that for once Fiona was making an effort to improve her abysmal chakra control. Kawarimi still came as easy to her as any newly graduated Genin and her Henge was getting progressively more complicated and disturbingly corporeal at times. But for the life of her, Fiona couldn't produce a proper Bunshin and she refused to create any Kage Bunshins after she was made aware of the FIAsco that had occurred.

The blonde was also exceptionally good at accurately throwing objects at whatever Sasori pointed at. She had a knack for that and it was obvious she trained hard to get to the level that she had gotten to. But as good as she was, her rate of Bull's eye hits was only around 70 per cent which was not that good in his books. But best keep her happy before she starts whining about it. That was another thing she was exceptionally good at – whining.

As the days came and went, all three of the girls had made sure to be at their 100 per cent best behavior in order to keep Itachi as their sensei. Fia, as always, had gotten up at 5 am and had prepared a light breakfast after which she went over to MJ and L-chan's apartments to wake the girls up. To her great surprise, both were already up and ready. But Fia suspected that in MJ's case she probably stayed up all night, fighting the anxiety monster, as she tended to do so whenever something very important was about to happen in her life. Like a second chance to prove herself in the eyes of one Uchiha Itachi.

The three ate mostly in silence their light breakfast. Then Fia took her time to prepare a basket with food, as she suspected that they would be spending the entire day being mercilessly pummeled by the Sharingan wielder. The blonde wondered if he would differ in some way from their previous senseis, from which they had to get rid of for convenience' sake. Since Itachi was the peace type she hoped they stuck on a more basic regime that would include less pummeling. But she also knew that when it came to such stuff, fate would often give her an obnoxious kick to the side and laugh devilishly as she flayed helplessly about. Her luck was such. Clumsy in real life, but extremely lucky with the unorthodox things.

It was finally 10 am and the girls were patiently waiting for Itachi to show up at the appointed training ground. It was a small, neatly trimmed field with trees surrounding its perimeter, a small pond in the middle and an area with sand. They've been there at exactly 15 minutes to 10 am and Fia promptly left her stuff in the shadow of the closest tree. It was a nice and sunny morning with a slightly chilly breeze, a remnant of last night's downpour. The three of them were all dressed sportily, with MJ and Rose wearing both training pants which went just below their knees, while Fia was wearing typical ninja pants and ninja shoes. The pants were slightly larger than her otherwise voluptuous forms but the ninja sandals were a perfect fit. Judging by the preserved condition, they guessed she probably nicked them from Sasori's workshop. After all, she had mentioned for some reason that both she and Sasori had the same shoe size. Rose decided to ignore yet another blonde escapade for the sake of a peaceful training session, while MJ was smirking slightly, looking somewhat smug. Ninja uniforms, like the pants and shoes Fia was wearing, were only sold to actual ranked ninja. Despite the fact some ninja found it better to be wearing their own customized set of work clothes, there were still those, like Jounin and ANBU, who preferred the standard uniform. They were less noticeable and it was harder to recognize them. But for people like MJ, it wasn't that hard to discern one haircut from the other or one cologne from the other, as most ninja had their own preferences still.

'Maa, maa, MJ, Rose! Itachi-sensei is late!' Fia exclaimed in mock regret, while looking at her super tinkered spy watch which hadn't been mentioned since the beginning of the story. 'It's already five minutes pass 10 and I've spent just about enough time with Sasori to be infected with his need for punctuality.'

Fia raised her eyebrows, again in mock regret and shrugged, sighing at the loss of time.

'It seems that I shall see you both tonight for di-Oomph! Bleh! Pfuu!'

Just as she was exuberantly walking away from her two friends, she managed to bump into something firm and she stumbled back, did a pirouette on one foot and fell face first onto the ground.

'He was right there behind me the entire time, wasn't he?' she said with a deadpan voice and then spat out the remaining dirt and pieces of grass from her mouth.

'That I was, Fia-san.' Itachi answered for the two silent girls. 'And right now is 10:01 am. You should keep your watch accurate, Fia-san. Punctuality is very important for ninja. A second tardiness may cost someone's life.'

A vein popped on Fia's forehead. He dared challenge SCIENCE! Fia breathed in sharply through her nostrils and glared incredulously at her sensei. Was he retarded or something? Her jaw dropped as she instantaneously stood rigid before him, an accusing finger millimeters from the tip of his nose.

'Me? My watch? Do you think it was easy to buy a bloody atomic wrist watch? DO YOU THINK THAT THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT IS INACCURATE? WELL!'

MJ was rolling her eyes, certain that Itachi would use his Sharingan sparingly.

'Cut the drama , Fia-san. We have training to do.' He walked pass her and her accusing finger.

'You….YOU…!'the blonde fumed. 'You…MACARONI EARS!' She finished lamely, causing Rose to snort from the ridiculousness of it all. In this particular case, Fia was right (for once). Her watch was so accurate that for the six months they had spent so far in the Narutoverse, the ninja clocks had actually lagged behind with five minutes. While she herself and MJ did not feel the need to be as eccentric and money wasting as their blonde friend, she did find the uses of a super spy watch, especially when it was a Swiss Watch. They made good watches. And then again, only Fia would need something with a built in barometer, atmosphere moisture analyzer, thermometer, and not to mention the Hemoglobin and blood cells counter apparatus that she had herself installed. But she had done it only to impress MJ's Dad, which the blonde still referred to as a DILF ( the dad version of a MILF).

Anyways, Itachi actually turned around to look at Fiona for the lamest insult he had ever heard come his way.

'We will have to work on your intimidation skills, Fia-san.' He stated and then looked at the big basket in the shadow of the nearest tree. 'What is the basket for?' he asked curiously.

'Oh, that's just some food I brought in case we are too lazy to walk back to the Dancing Squid.' Fia explained as a matter of fact, with a friendly air about her, as if nothing happened just moments prior. The Dancing Squid was the name of the Karaoke restaurant they visited oh so often.

Itachi looked at the basket and then back at the blonde. That was actually very thoughtful of her, to his surprise.

'Very well.' He started.' I want to evaluate your skills personally. For that, I want you to start with 15 laps around the training ground. You may go.'

'Oh,man! You suck, Itachi-sensei.' Fia grumbled but MJ swatted the back of her head and the blonde resigned to running the 15 laps.

After so much time spending here, they were not as hard as they looked. Even so, when Fia finally finished hers ( last) she hunched over and carefully cupped her large breasts.

'The twins are aching. Thanks, Itachi-sensei.' She groaned and sat down under a tree shade. But rest was not to be.

Push-ups, sit ups and all that jazz were all for the menu for the next two hours. MJ did all of the required warm ups with little to no effort, Rose was following right behind her, looking slightly winded, while Fia used every spare moment to catch her breath. Itachi stood there before them, his emotionless expression unperturbed by the constant (lame) insults the blonde grumbled and mumbled his way. What he did took note of, however, was the perfect physical condition of the raven haired girl. She was diligently and efficiently doing every single work out. Her breathing and movements were controlled and it was obvious that she did exercises every single day. By the time she was done with warm ups, she wasn't even looking slightly fatigued. Rose's warm ups were not so good, as pointed out earlier, but it was also obvious that she was exercising as well. Fiona was completely flushed and there was a coat of shiny sweat rolling off of her. Her azure eyes almost glowed by the stark contrast with her tomato red face. To be honest with himself, Itachi was surprised she was managing at all to even complete the exercises. From what he had gathered while spying on them, she did not train physically at all. And then she'd go on for a whole night tinkering with stuff and be as fresh as a daisy in the morning.

He wanted to test that healing factor.

'Good. You managed to pull through.' He glanced ever so slightly in the direction of the blonde, making MJ scowl slightly. 'Now, we shall try sparring. Michael-san, Fiona-san. Step forward and take your battle stances.'

MJ spared a look at Fia, who seemed to be just as confused as herself. Did Fia even know a proper battle stance? MJ cleared her throat and the blonde finally looked at her. She made faces and glanced back and forth from her to Itachi and mouthed things which were somewhat like 'Is he for real?' and 'What the hell do I do now?'

'Are you in position? Good. Start the spar.' Itachi spoke again, ignoring the obnoxiousness that was the Blonde One.

At first MJ took her stance automatically. It was a basic stance, one of the first she had learned early on. She hoped Fia had seen her train enough to recognize it and at least try to…well, block. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then Fia suddenly charged at MJ. As MJ was of a lighter category and Fia of a heavier one, it was like watching a high velocity truck going at your way. The blonde swung her arms, trying to catch MJ and drag her to the ground with her, which, added to her momentum, would have easily broken or at least cracked a rib or two.

The raven headed girl swiftly placed her hands on Fia's shoulders, and just as the blonde was trying to pin her hold on MJ, she jumped, using her shoulders as a support and flipped over her, landing gingerly on the other side. Fia needed 2 more meters before she managed to stop herself completely and charged again. MJ sidestepped and pushed her away in just the right moment, causing Fia to lose her stepping and she stumbled on the ground.

Rose cringed while watching this. MJ wasn't even trying to defend herself. And Fia was being a bit too pathetic.

'Fia, do something. Don't just charge at her!'

'What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm not a bloody Arena Master! Owie!'

MJ took the time to throw (very accurately) a small pebble at Fia's head. Fia growled dangerously and turned her attention back at the pale girl only to find her smirking.

'She's taunting me!' Fia whined at Rose.

The red head face palmed in embarrassment.

'Just…go.'

'Aw, man!' Fia grumbled and charged again.

This time MJ just held out her hand as Fia got pass her when she side-stepped again and… well, Fia found herself on the ground after she got her neck swept by MJ's forearm. Rose cringed. That must've hurt. But the bruise formed almost instantaneously and disappeared no sooner than 10 seconds later. Fia got up, coughing and flung a fist at MJ. She pushed the attack to her side and palmed Fia right in the nose, causing her to stagger back.

'Fia, you're being pathetically sucky today.' MJ finally commented. 'Like you forgot your brain on the way here.'

'It's not that! How the hell am I supposed to fight you, when you know like probably 700 different ways to incapacitate me!'

'Stop whining and just hit me!' MJ ordered irately. This was getting a bit beyond pathetically annoying.

'Allright!'

Adrenalin was going up as Fia charged again. Getting Fia enraged was probably the easiest way to do things. She was basically a sloth until something pumped her veins full of adrenalin and then the aggression was on. While MJ was cool and controlled most of the time, Fia was a hurricane just waiting to be unleashed. True, she had absolutely no training, but once angered to a boiling point, she could throw even Ben with a Chokehold to the ground. And he weighed 120 kilos of pure muscle and testosterone. But getting Fia to a boiling point took months of simmering and poking and annoying, and Fia was oblivious to most things.

And right about now, Fia had finally started to simmer. That and she healed pretty damn ridiculously fast. Why would MJ want to hold back?

'Argh!' Fia thrust her fist forward with all her might. MJ caught it and tried to side-track it but Fia swung her hand in another direction, which pulled at MJ's whole body. If MJ hadn't known her blonde friend so well, she would've been surprised. But she expected something of the sort and she used the momentum to gain distance away from the blonde. There was no time to rest because Fia once again ran in her direction. A few blows were thrown Jessica's way but she dodged them all. Being of an agile posture it was a bloody foolish idea to try and parry. While she did not bruise easily, it'll tax on her in the long run. Ever since they arrived, Fia's fortitude was ever so increasing, even if one could not see it during training. Every single time they sparred or trained was an added improvement to Fia. She rarely tried to do anything physical at all, but when she did, her organism usually would be under a lot of stress. And stress forced her regeneration to kick in and even if she was on the verge of collapsing just moments prior, she would be perfectly fine in the blink of an eye. A tan through and through. But she lacked hit rating, to use Fia's favorite gaming terms.

While Fia tried to do one blow on MJ, the raven-haired girl would land three or four hits. For every hit MJ would land on the blonde, her friend's adrenalin pumped up. She was slowly building up her rage. Michael kicked Fia in the guts and she staggered backwards and fell on her bottom. She stood up clumsily and dusted herself off. Her hair had a multiplicity of stray strands all over her tight bun. Her eyes were a promise of azure hell in the depths of a bottomless abyss.

The fight went on like that for half an hour. It was by that time that Itachi called the fight. He did not comment on Fia's lack of physical training. In the end, it had been as MJ had predicted. Fia was no worse for wear, and there wasn't a single bruise on her body. MJ looked ever so slightly winded, but other than that, she was also as fresh as the blonde. Itachi told them to stay on their spots as he circled them one by one. After of a minute or so of silence he waved Fia off of to the side and called Rose. The red head complied and he asked her to take a fighting stance, which she did immediately and silently. He observed her, circling as well and corrected her posture here and there. It was the typical classic Amegakure stance, easy to recognize everywhere. He looked at MJ and asked her to take a basic stance as well. The black haired girl nodded and took her prior stance. He circled her twice, and MJ noticed bemusedly that his Sharingan was on. Apparently he was copying her stance! That made her feel annoyed as she had worked hard, even for this basic position, to achieve near perfection of the martial arts. And here he was, Sexy Uchiha Almighty, cheating her moves away from her. The only hint of her discomfort of this action of his was the slightest of scowls that marred her face. He had probably noticed it, but as usual, he did not comment on it, staying completely poker face about it.

'You two will spar now.'

Both girls nodded and MJ took a careful quick glance towards where Itachi was going. He apparently seemed to want to talk something with Fia, who looked somewhat sheepish around him.

'Hajime! (Begin!)' Exclaimed Rose and she went forward. The two exchanged kicks and blows, but none really hitting their mark. Both either parried or dodged the upcoming attack. While Rose was not really a challenge for MJ, the raven head appreciated sparring with her more, as the red head had spent a lot of time the past 3 years to learn a few Karate moves. And from what she could see from her new fighting stance, MJ was sure that she had been shown this and that additionally. While it wasn't an actual secret, it wasn't a disclosed fact either that Rose was Pein's favorite of the three. He always seemed slightly more light hearted when she was in his presence and it was like watching two twins' antics. They had surprisingly the same mannerisms and not to mention their similar reactions to things. It was creepy when Rose leveled someone or something with that stormy grey Rinnegan gaze of hers. It was exactly the same as Pein's, especially when Fia whined for several minutes to him.

'Ha!' Rose shouted as she threw yet another kick at MJ. Their spar was getting slightly more heated, and it was obvious who had the upper hand in this. 10 minutes had passed and Rose was getting winded. MJ herself was also tiring, but not as visibly as Rose, who was now panting heavily. Itachi called the spar to a hold, quite earlier in comparison to the previous spar.

'That is enough.' He said while calmly eyeing them each for a few moments. 'I assessed your physical condition. Michael-san, you will continue your current training regime. Rose-san, you need more practice but you are decent enough to begin with. Fiona-san, you were completely abysmal, but surprisingly rigorous and resilient. Your healing factor weighed in, you need a lot of training. I shall assign you a program that you will follow precisely or there will be repercussions. Am I clear?'

'Meh. As long as it doesn't interfere with my other stuff.' Not even the mighty Sharingan glare could make her heart twinge in apprehension. She was just too used to MJ.

Itachi ignored her comment for his own sake and turned to the raven headed girl.

'I shall spar with you now. I need to assess your level, as you are clearly superior to your friends' skills.'

A spar with Itachi? MJ's heart started racing as she nodded eagerly. He was probably better than her but she would give it her best!

'You two will execute the leaf chakra training excersize.'He turned to Rose and Fia. He walked over to them and took a leaf from the ground. He placed it in his palm and no sooner did it levitate a few inches into the air and started spinning quickly with a constant speed and fluid motions. 'You will try to concentrate chakra in your palm and use it to levitate and spin the leaf. Once you do master the technique, you will move on to two leaves and so on. I do not expect you to manage the technique on your first try, but I expect decent progress by the end of the training session.'

The Uchiha turned back to MJ and gave her the signal to begin. Rose and Fia watched them begin their spar before turning to one another.

'He's actually having us learn…never mind. Let's get some leaves, Fia.' Rose shook her head and sat on the ground cross-legged.

The blond happily followed suit and grabbed at one of the fallen leaves. It was slightly discolored, indicating that it hadn't fallen off any time soon. She wondered if there was any difference between using a dead leaf and a freshly fallen one with living cells. There probably was one.

Rose placed her leaf in her palm, closed her eyes and tried performing the technique. She stood like that for a while, and Fia got bored from examining her. She turned back to staring at the leaf in her own palm. It was a typical for Deciduous trees leaf, about 4.7 cm long and it looked oddly familiar. She recognized the rather classic form of the leaf, typical for Plum type of trees. She turned around and realized that all of the surrounding trees were plum trees. They were not cherry trees or peach trees, who were all part of the genus Prunus. The trees were just too small. Some of them were almost shrub-like. Fia scowled in concentration. For some reason, as it was with many things for her, she found it extremely important to recognize the species of the tree. It was just too damn familiar. She turned back to the leaf in her hand and carefully rubbed her thumb over to feel its texture. It wasn't cherry. At least not a European species and it wasn't Japanese cherry either. She could recognize it a mile away and there were actually very rare in Rain country. What she was staring at, was actually a cherry plum.

Fia blinked.

It was a decorative cherry plum. There were traces of purple tint in her leaf and as she turned to look at the trees about her, they also had that tint, if a bit harder to spot. Now that she had the need to know what the tree species was, she concentrated on how to lift it off her palm and make it spin. In her head, a perfect structure for the job would be a multiple helix-based column of chakra, which would be the imaginary track she'd use to push said chakra upwards, following the curves of the multiple helix. She imagined the helix spinning, driving chakra upwards like a screw. But she needed to control the speed, height and had to keep the whole manipulation fluid and stable. It should be a more simple helix column,

A double helix, such as the structure of DNA, would have only two spiral curves which would not keep her imaginary composition stable enough. A quadruple helix was stable, but she feared that she did not have the fine-tuned control for just that much. An Octuple Helix with rough, fat spiral curves, screwing through the air upwards and then at a certain height from her palm forming a platform of sorts, which would keep the leaf in place. Fia imagined the platform similar to a hot air current reaching a point high in the atmosphere at which it would cool and then start its descent. But since the whole helix structure was spinning, the leaf would spin as well. It was a complicated but sound plan/ schematic in her head, but she wondered if she could execute it. There was no need to aim for finesse. She only had to create the structure she imagined and keep it up. Her massive chakra pool had always caused her problems when fine tuning. It was for that reason alone why right now Rose was already making semi-successful attempts to lift the leaf from her palm. It would wobble uncertainly at various distances from her palm and then it would fall back down.

Indeed, Fia took her time before starting the actual exercise. But it was on her very first try that she managed to make the leaf float at a suitable height from her palm. The leaf remained in its position and then ever so slowly did it start to spin. It was almost intuitive, the action itself. It was almost as if she had done it before. The sense of déjà vu was nearly overwhelming, especially when she added a second leaf and it started spinning and floating in just the same way. It was ridiculously easy. And that freaked even Fia out. At some time later she stopped practicing and decided to just look at where Itachi and MJ were sparring. It was fascinating to watch them.

The spar had started with swift, if simple moves. MJ managed to parry every single one of Itachi's first few blows at which point he activated his Sharingan and blocking and dodging had become a lot harder for MJ but she still managed on occasion. On the offensive, the black-haired girl also managed to land a few hits on Itachi, if only because the fighting stance she had taken, and the fighting style she was currently using was perfect to block the typical Konohan fighting style. After all, some 50 per cent of their senseis had been ex-missing nin, some of which were from Konoha and she had wagered that he would start with that stance, seeing as he was ANBU in Konoha before he left the village. Soon enough Itachi changed his stance to mimic hers, much to Jessica's ire. She knew he'd be copying her and she couldn't do anything about it. The stance they were both using now had its disadvantages when used against the same stance and after several minutes of exchanging swift blows Jessica finally changed from the beginner's stance to a different one, that was perfect for countering the one she had been using prior. Fia snickered when she sneaked a blow right in Itachi's face. Fighting an Uchiha with active Sharingan was not impossible, but it was very difficult. After all, for every blow she managed to hit Itachi with, there was at least two or three moves he copied with his Sharingan. That made MJ even more irritated at him, despite her fluttering heart protesting that she was destined to give her skills to him in such a way. That was probably one of the few things that distinguished MJ from most girls – she had an amazing control of what she would express and while people like Fia could read her like a book, it was near impossible for everyone else to do so. The control she had of her emotions was the main reason why she was one of the Martial Arts world champions. It took discipline, dedication and most of all understanding of what was happening around you. That awareness helped her predict Itachi's next moves somewhat, as she had experience fighting all kinds of opponents.

On his side, Itachi was impressed how well she was handling his Sharingan. He knew she was an expert in at least 3 different fighting styles, but from what he had seen so far, she was making sure to keep her moves to a minimum. If he didn't know what he was up against he would've been extremely suspicious of that. Some very special girls. That was what he was up against. And she knew that he was copying her. And she obviously felt cheated. Most of the times swift fights such as this one were completely based on training and instinct. He was surprised that the girl actually had the quick wit required to respond so quickly to his attacks. She had thought process going on in her head, assessing every single move they both did. There was that cunning glint in her crystal blue eyes, and despite her obvious fatigue, she held up to his expectations.

Itachi decided to bring the fight up a notch and his attacks became even faster. He used chakra to enhance his speed, strength and generally his hand-eye coordination. That, along with his Sharingan, made for an almost impossible opponent. One thing that Itachi noted was that right now he had the upper hand in the spar. Both of them knew he was holding back immensely. It was only a taijutsu spar, which somewhat explained why she was also holding back. It was a bit strange for him, as usually when sparring opponents aimed to defeat each other. MJ was merely fighting to a stale mate.

And another thing. Something he had generally noticed when he first saw her practice her taijutsu. She did not use chakra. It was mind boggling. He wanted to see how far he could take her like that.

He managed to kick her in the chest, which sent her flying for several meters before she landed on the ground heavily. She did not take her time as she immediately rolled to the side and bounced right back up to a standing position. There was a visible bruise on her left forearm and she was slightly hunched, cradling the place he had kicked her in with one arm. He stood there, waiting to see what her next move would be. He did not wait long she charged forward, apparently deciding to switch styles again. Itachi had started using her own moves again. The Uchiha prepared to counter attack her for her next move, but she suddenly pulled away at the last moment and grabbed for his arm. Usually that was a foolish tactic, but as Itachi tried to swing his free hand at her, she hung all her weight on him and toppled him over. Her eyes had been closed during the attack, and he was inwardly impressed by that decision. The best way to fight someone with Sharingan was to avoid eye contact. Or at least line of sight. It was hard, but as she just proved, not undoable.

On the side Rose and Fia recognized the customized move. She was going to go airborne for a while. Fia grinned. Capoeira-Karate time!

Just as Itachi hit the ground, MJ bounced away from him and rolled over. Her moves looked like she was bouncing to a rhythm, the typical Capoeira ginga. She was literally rocking back and forth, occasionally swinging to the side. Itachi stood up slowly and blinked. MJ looked tired but springing movements were giving her momentum, or so he analyzed. Her nodded at her and beckoned her to come closer. MJ did a low cartwheel, one of the forms of Capoeira's Aú and as she nearly hit Itachi, he dodged while she rolled to the side, a Capoeira's Rolé, which is essentially a spin to one side by the capoeirista (a person who performs Capoeira) while remaining low to the ground and always watching the opponent. In the next Five minutes Itachi dodged MJ's attacks while she did various tricks of the capoeira trade. She did manage to strike several hits, however, and the Uchiha noted the power gained by her momentum in her strikes. She still did not use chakra, however. It remained perfectly calm, not fluctuating even once. She had trained too hard to make her chakra work with her. It was…mystifying.

'Woah!' Fia exclaimed appreciatively when Itachi suddenly started using Capoeira moves himself. At first he used the moves a bit cautiously but then he became faster and faster with them. Both were flipping and jumping and rolling and mostly kicking but there were punches on the occasion. It was a style that concentrated on leg work, which made the acrobatics even more impressive.

'Where is the good music when you need it?' Fia exclaimed and then stood up to watch the sparring properly.

They were fighting for half an hour and Fia could tell that MJ was near her limit. There was still fight left in her, however, when Itachi called the spar to an end.

'I must say that I am impressed. You did not use any chakra while fighting and that is nearly incredible. From what I've gathered, however, you cannot use your chakra and you either have severe chakra problems or you trained your taijutsu in such a way that ignored chakra and now you cannot find the instinct to pull it into use.' Itachi's voice was monotonous while he was explaining this. His face was expressionless as usual. The only thing that even gave away that he had just sparred was the occasional green spots where he had rubbed into the grass and his rustled hair. All three of the girls suppressed the urge to go over to him and fix his hair. It made them feel out of place just looking at him.

Then Itachi turned to the standing Fiona and scowled ever so slightly. She wasn't doing her chakra exercises. He was about to point it out when Fia blinked a few times and then her eyes widened in understanding.

'Oh! I mastered the technique, Itachi-sensei, so I thought it was ok to watch.' She explained cheerfully and smiled like a Cheshire Cat looking incredibly smug.

Again with being ridiculous.

'Show me then.' He ordered and crossed his arms.

To his utter surprise she showed him. While he is a very good ninja and quite aware of his surroundings, he had generally ignored the other two girls during his spar, instead concentrating on examining (or copying) MJ's moves. He felt their chakra signatures and there was nothing threatening around them.

'Can you do this with more leaves?'

'Yep!' Fia quickly added more leaves and forced even more chakra into her exercise. Her eyebrows were knit in concentration and one could even faintly see the tell-tale wispy bluish mist occasionally appearing just below the leaves.

'You haven't mastered it. You are still trying hard to control your chakra.' Itachi stated after a minute or two.

'Well, you try to imagine and execute twisting and spiraling octuple helixes that are stable in construction and function!'

'Is that how you are doing it, Fia?' Rose asked, not really surprised. 'I don't think your genius is helping you in this at all.'

'I'm just trying to keep the movements stable and fluid. It's not as easy as it looks- whoops!'

The leaves wobbled dangerously as she tried to find her control again. After several moments, however, the whole chakra construct exploded in her face, producing a strong gust of wind in all directions.

'Owie.' Fia mumbled as she removed a leaf that got stuck in one of her eyes during her grand and epic fail. There was a little blood from her wounded eye and she rubbed it with the palm of one hand. Her eye was perfectly healed several seconds later.

'Show off.' Rose mumbled and shook her head good naturedly.

'So, what now?' The blonde asked, looking bored and examining the smeared blood on the palm of her hand, as if it was the most casual thing ever.

'You use too much chakra.' Itachi stated.

'Who me? Well, when your chakra reserves are the size of the Rain country and I'm trying to squeeze it through a small needle-thin hole, it's like popping a zit. It'll blow in your face.' She explained sagely.

Rose rolled her eyes and MJ looked a bit green in the face. Eww. Trust the blonde to say something disgustingly disturbing.

Several hours later found the three girls and Itachi doing different things, depending on their skill level. Fia was trying to climb up a tree using her chakra, while MJ was meditating in an attempt to reach her chakra. Rose was already on the water walking technique. Itachi noted once again their incredibly fast progress. The way they looked surprised every time they achieved something so quickly made him think about why they were so special.

Fia managed to land on her head three times, break her back in various places seven times, and break her appendages countless times while she tried to complete the tree walking exercise. In the end she was bloodied but in perfect health. She stopped climbing on occasion, only to fix her hair and complain about grass stains. They were hard to remove, after all!

At some point it was finally the time for food, which made Fia energetically whoop with joy. She then approached MJ and poked her carefully. The raven-headed girl was sitting peacefully on the ground, cross legged, her head lowered and her eyes closed. When Fia poked her, she emitted a soft, quiet snore. She had obviously fallen asleep at which the blonde barely suppressed her urge to cackle madly like a truly evil maniac of a mad scientist. She sniggered though and then shoved MJ lightly, startling her awake.

'Food time, Princess Aurora.' Fia said.

It took several seconds for MJ to replace her slight confusion with the realization that Princess Aurora was Disney's main protagonist in their version of 'Sleeping Beauty'.

'Shove it, Fia.' She grumbled sleepily and headed to the picnic area, where Itachi and Rose were chatting quietly all the while eating sandwiches that Fia had prepared.

They sat down and took out a sandwich each. MJ was just about to take a bite off of hers when she saw a tiny little ant right on top of it. She paled and slowly placed it back in the basket. She had a sad, resigned expression on her face.

'What is it, MJ?' Fia asked. 'Don't you like my sandwiches?'

'I will eat when we get back.' The raven head said quietly, all the while staring longingly at the basket table.

'Aren't you hungry, MJ?'

'No.'

At that same moment Jessica's stomach decided it was imperative to rumble loudly. Fia could not stop herself from cackling like an idiot.

'Your stomach says otherwise. Is there something wrong with my food?'

MJ remained silent and Fia took out the sandwich she had placed back in the basket. She stared for a while at it and then finally spotter the tiny ant on top of it. She casually flicked it with one finger and looked at MJ proudly, as if expecting a compliment.

'Here you go, MJ!' the blonde exclaimed and stretched her arm with the sandwich so MJ could take it. The girl got even more sickly pale and placed a hand on her mouth. She barely suppressed the urge to throw up.

Rose rolled her eyes again and continued her chat with Itachi about their training regime. So far he hadn't used his Sharingan to knock out Fia for being annoying, even though it had come to that maybe once or twice. MJ fought with him and that allowed him to learn the funkiest martial art ever- Capoeira. She wondered if he would ever use it. Probably only against Sasuke, just for kicks. That would bring the saying 'dancing around the issue' to a new dimension.

The air had taken a slightly chillier note and there were clouds gathering in the sky. It was probably going to rain.

All in all, Itachi finally called it a day and all of them got to their respective homes just in time to avoid getting soaked. Fia was especially happy about it as she was wearing a white sleeveless sweatshirt for top today. Not that she had a problem with Itachi ogling her goodies. It was that MJ would make it a problem if Itachi ogled her goodies. So it was a lose-lose situation. Then the blonde wondered idly for a few minutes about the time she passed out naked, while looking totally bad ass, in Pein's arms. She still had his cloak neatly hidden in her big sack with things she kept handy just in case.

Speaking of their awesome fearless leader, Fia set up to her usual work in the kitchen and carefully prepared undercover comfort food to deliver to Pein's office as soon as possible.

All in all, today had been probably one of her more successful days, considering the amount of chakra training she had miraculously managed for record time. She had found it even easier to mold her chakra ever since she had…well, died and come back from the dead. She had thought about it on occasion and finally she had come to the conclusion that that death experience had somehow unlocked her hidden abilities of sorts. The super healing factor that she had currently going on was still giving her an exciting power trip and now with the ridiculous easy access to her own chakra, Fia found herself wondering even more about what was really going on about her. Her instincts were telling her that near-death experiences, or anything artificially increasing adrenaline in one's blood stream to dangerous levels, were the way to go if MJ wanted to unlock her chakra as well.

Apart from her extraordinary Taijutsu skill, MJ had performed beyond abysmally with anything ninjutsu and genjutsu related. At least with genjutsu she was sharp enough to recognize them. One small saving grace for the complete ninjutsu fail.

Fia decided not to meddle in this one. She preferred to see what Itachi will do for these two days, regarding their training. Having him as a sensei was probably the next best thing after having Jiraya gift her a full collection of his works, all signed, and then spend a whole year with Orochimaru for tutelage. She did not mean any offence towards Sasori by thinking this, but she was a tiny bit more interested in figuring how chakra worked on a genetic level, and while she could probably pester Sasori any time of day (within reason, of course), Orochimaru had himself whisked away at some of his hidden underground bases somewhere on the Elemental Continent.

Well, in any case, the next two weeks would be exceptionally eventful. There was going to be a Lunar Eclipse, She was going to finally start pestering Sasori about chakra strings ( if her plan to show off her ninjutsu to Itachi worked out), all of the Akatsuki were finally going to gather for a meeting and last but not least- THEY WERE GONNA GO ON A MISSION!

So much to do and yet so little time. And despite how much her current power trip was tempting her, she did not allow herself make Kage Bunshin. One of her was already too much for Amegakure and she had the sense to feel at least a bit aware of that fact. A tiny bit, but it was there still.

_**LINELINELINELINE**_

Once again the Parisian Johnson Residence was full of the people that currently summed up the Johnson clan. It was not a happy occasion, nor had there been a happy occasion in this residence. Not since the children disappeared. And that had been some six months ago. They weren't really children, they were almost ready to step on their own in the world. And Fia had probably done it at age ten or so.

It was a lovely, if chilly, cloudy October. It was carrying the bittersweet sense of longing and it was also carrying the silence of grief.

Today was not a good day for the Johnson family. It marked 6 months since the disappearance of two of their precious children, Hatorri and Fiona. And it also marked one month since the death of Old Lady Johnson. Somehow it seemed appropriate to gather in John Jr.'s residence, as his Old Lady would always feel happier here than back at home in Switzerland. She loved her only granddaughter and even her illness hadn't been enough to erase the memory of her baby princess. After several years of fighting with Alzheimer, she finally passed away in her sleep. The previous day she had looked all right and happy and even joked about 'their little ninjas saving the ninja worlds'. She had sounded proud and excited, something that was so typical of her, and yet her illness had made her look like a mockery of her true self. But deep down inside she was there, and that had made J.J. Sr.'s heart clench less tightly every time he looked at his beloved.

Even now he remembered it as clear as day. She had been sitting on a rocking chair that was placed in front of the fireplace and she had been staring happily into the cackling warm flickers of flame that danced around the wood chops. When he had come home after another fruitless day of searching for the lost ones, she had simply glanced sympathetically at him.

'What is bothering you, Joe?' She had asked.

'Nothing, dear. Just a tiresome day.' He had answered as casually as possible but he had been painfully aware that his voice and everything else about him betrayed that statement.

'You should worry less, Joe. You know how they always play ninja. Now they get to be ninja and they will save the ninja world. They've always been safe among their own, you know.' Even though what she said half the time was random gibberish, for once he had decided to listen to her. Strangely enough he felt a sort of power in her words.

Indeed, one of Fia's many quirks had been her passion for cosplaying, which had turned into a rather successful and popular hobby she had. It had grown successful enough over the years and she had finally found her place among those who did not shy away from her eccentricities. Hatorri was also an avid cosplayer, but apparently not of the same Fandom, J. J. Sr. mused. A small, sad smile appeared on his face. Hatorri had always been closest with Fia among all of his cousins. Sure, he was a riot with the other three Johnson boys, but with Fia he seemed to share that special connection one could see only between the best of friends. The Asian-looking lad was definitely not Johnson in the looks department, even though he was sure he got the chin and height from their line, but he had the complete set of Johnson characteristics. He was a chivalrous boy with a great, big, kind heart and an open mind. He had his mother's unique ability to listen to people and just let them find an anchor to hold them through telling the sappy stories of their lives. He'd make some very lucky girl happy somewhere.

J. J. Sr.'s heart clenched at the memory. For all he knew, they were somewhere, probably not even on this world. But they were somewhat safe. If those were some of his wife's last words…he had made sure those who were affected knew.

This small gathering of Johnsons was a very private affair, one in which they gathered strength from each other's presence and support. It was a somber business and the grim feeling of duty was settled well within the minds of the Johnson men. All they had to do was waiting and hoping they would come back one day. The Johnsons had always been a strong lot, persevering through all kinds of odds. Including some impossible ones.

It was a strictly a family secret between them that Fiona and Hatorri were actually half-sister and half-brother. It was disturbing that the two of them always joked about it. But the thing was, that even if two identical twins had the same DNA, it wasn't possible for John Jr. to have been Fia's father, when he had been on a 4-month long trip to some sort of conference across the world. He did return occasionally, but the thing was that his brother got really drunk one night and he had promptly woken up the next morning cuddling a very naked Jubilation. When he slipped away, pretending that nothing happened, for a while he thought no one would find out about it. Heck, even he did not remember how it happened, but it had involved lots and lots of alcohol. When the bouncing baby girl Fiona was born, they had all thought she was John's. If only she had not been delivered in the 6th month, looking surprisingly developed. The royal fuck up had been out and the Johnson Twins had been into an incredible fall out for years, leaving poor Jubilation a nervous wreck for a long period of time. But John had forgiven and they hadn't divorced. Sarah hadn't found out about it and it had been a very guilty Jubilation who had confessed to her sin. Sarah was a good woman. But even she had her limits.

In the end, it had been Old Lady Johnson who had reconciled the twins and had brought back peace in their household, even if it was a tentative one. Sarah had eventually forgiven, and it had been later on, when she began to have quarrels with Joshua, that she had finally decided that Hatorri shouldn't be present to the worst of it. She sent him to the only woman who would understand her, even if she felt incredibly uncomfortable about it- Jubilation. And thus Hatorri had spent the better part of a year with his 'cousin' Fiona and the two had been inseparable ever since.

Apart from the elder Johnson siblings and the Senior Johnsons, no one had known about this. In the end it hadn't mattered as much, and things were back to a near normal state soon enough. John Sr. wondered idly if he would ever have a normal day in his life. He figured that despite all that was around him, he would still do his best to keep the family together. If there was one good thing that had come with the disappearance of two of his grandchildren, it was the gradually improving relationship between Joshua and Sarah. Naturally, J. J. Sr. had always known their spark hadn't really gone off, and at least he was happy they had went on two dates already, trying to get to know each other again.

Jubilation had not been as lucky in terms of distractions. Her poor body and soul had been run ragged with the guilt that she had never really tried to understand that special little girl she had given life to. Given the mental state of his wife, John Jr. had been extremely worried about her and thought that seeing children around her would help. For that reason they had went to temporarily live with Jasmine, so Jubilee could spend some time with her nephews. The three boys had the typical extrovert personality of a Johnson and it was somewhat therapeutic for John Jr.'s wife to help taking care of Jasmine's youngest, even if the boy himself was perfectly capable to take care of himself.

In the course of the last six months the perfect image that Jubilee had had crumbled into smithereens and right now her hair had grown some pretty long natural colored roots, who were dark blond. She did not wear makeup and she had lost weight. As of the last two months she had been regularly visiting a renowned psychiatrist, who was trying to help her cope with the loss of their only child. Her husband had discussed twice on trying for another one and Jubilee had reluctantly agreed to try in a few months.

It was one of the few things that kept his poor wife running these days, he mused, and John wondered bemusedly when was this entire horrid ordeal would end. He had thanked his older sister profusely for allowing them to bunk at her place as often as they did, as her three boys were always a fresh breath of air.

Indeed, three very boisterous and adventurous young men with light brown hair and brown eyes. Albert, Brian and Percival were tall, just like their mother, and especially like their father. Brian was still permanently home, at least during the school year, as he was still in High School, while the other two boys, Albert and Percy were both out of school and they would visit every second weekend or so. All in all their presence felt refreshing for the poor devastated mother.

The military brats had this defined aura of security about them and also that confidence of theirs. It made Jubilee feel a bit better, but she knew that she could not run from reality forever. After her mother-in-law had passed away, it had been strangely relieving to hear what those last words of hers had been. They were ok. Somewhere, they were all together and they were ok. And once they had saved whoever needed saving they would be back. And she would make sure to bond with her child properly, and even though she could not undo so many years of neglect, she was at least entitled to try.

That October day had been strangely bittersweet with the sense of longing for their lost loved ones. It also carried their hope and determination to do what it took to get their family back. Or at least pick back their lives into their hands. John Sr. glanced around the room yet again and saw Jasper going through his lap top again, as he did every day, trying to find a new clue or anything to just catch on to. There was a black loading screen currently on his lap top. It had a small loading bar and above it were the words DONSPACE.

**LINELINELINELINE**

Time passes quickly when one was so busy to just keep themselves out of trouble. So many things had happened and in such a quick succession that Leopold found it hard to believe that 5 months had blown past him and he was still in one of the many hide outs that Orochimaru had, training to be a lackey dog so that the girls, Kate and Malena in particular, and the children, 3 year old Vincent, 5 year old Tifa and the recently born giggling baby girl, a now 4 month old Lucrecia Aerith Devon with wisps of silvery hair and the most brilliantly beautiful and enchanting green eyes that had made even Orochimaru smile fondly once. Which had naturally given everybody the creeps but that was not really relevant to their current situation. But the most relevant thing was that they had discovered, to their great relief, that the Snake Sannin was NOT a pedophile, nor was he homosexual.

When Tifa had innocently asked him if he likes men, he had been so flabbergasted by her direct approach, that for a whole period of 3 seconds his mouth had hung open. Then he politely asked why she thought so, and she said that she always saw him working and interacting more with men than with women. The crisis was averted after she further indulged the man and told him that, basically, her mom had explained early on what homosexualism was, though she had kept to a child-friendly version of the explanation. Tifa's only saving grace had been how easy she picked up ninja skills and how insanely lucky she was that it had been only him in the room and none of his ninja had been with him. That and he had been freaked out by the concept of homosexualism in general. Such things were taboo in their feudal society. And a little girl, 5 years of age, had asked him in the most innocently, sincerely casual tone of voice if he happened to like men.

For a long while, Orochimaru seriously wondered from what kind of a world he had pulled these people from. While the adults looked relatively normal and acted relatively normal, the two little kids had no such restrictions and were bringing out either their freaky side, or whatever culture they had come from. Culture shock was sometimes nasty to deal with. Especially when a 5 year old would spontaneously burst into singing about a sunflower and the zombies that would try to eat its petals and the brains of the one who planted the sunflower in the first place. Apparently it was a very popular child song from wherever these people came from and even though he himself completely lacked any kind of parental instincts and had little actual humanity left in him… well, even Orochimaru knew it was definitely not child-friendly or good for anyone's child's psyche to teach said progeny songs about Brain-eating zombies. Especially when it came to civilian children.

Other than that, the Tifa child was a happy-go-lucky gentle little girl with great potential in Taijutsu. Her little brother however… Orochimaru was certain the boy was not…completely human. He was just as cute and cuddly and gentle like his older sister… but that kid gave him the creeps. At first he had thought the children might end up having the Uchiha gene, since it was obvious these people went through some sort of transformation or something when they crossed realities and they had ended up with their respective powers. Malena's genetic make-up was almost exactly the same as Konan's and Ben and Kisame could have been siblings as well. Though the man did not have gills or blue skin, he certainly had the genes for it.

Hoshigake Kisame was one of those rare specimens that Orochimaru had the extreme satisfaction to work with. The shark man possessed an extreme phenotype case of his equally extremely rare recessive bloodline. While there were those with just pointy teeth and exceptional control of the water element, like his very own Suigetsu or Momochi Zabuza, who happened to be a onetime fellow member of Kisame when they had been part of the Legendary Seven Swordsmen of Mist, Kisame had been born with the a fully homozygotic version of that recessive bloodline. Along with Samehada, the man-mountain was practically a Jinchuuriki in his own right.

Somehow, little 3 year old Vincent reminded him of Kisame. The boy was practically radiating hidden power. And there were also those inexplicable moments in which he would somehow end up where he was not supposed to be. His ninja guards had been sure that nothing short of teleportation had been involved in those feats, but all the boy said was that he either wanted to see something or to play with something. He was an innocent little child – one, that he was drooling about in the prospect of doing experiments on him.

First of all the boy had an amazing for his measly 3 years of age chakra pool and some form of innate control that was also near impossible to have at that age. Sadly, despite the uncanny resemblance, neither him nor his sister had even a distant relation to the Uchiha gene pool. At least he had Sylvia. That woman showed potential to be an even greater Mokuton user than the First Hokage. At least he had managed to find a suitable subject on ONE project.

Apart from the children, the Snake Sannin had no trouble when dealing with the adults themselves. They were a reasonable lot of men and women who mostly kept to themselves and always murmured in that weird 'English' language of theirs. But other than that they had been delightfully obedient. He was certain they had no idea how to escape and it was a matter of time to have them completely under his iron fist. Then again, he was completely and blissfully unaware of the fact that the universe they came from had a little something called 'Naruto' the anime and manga series.

So far, there were little to no incidents. But that was only because they were extremely cautious. Everything they did was somehow centered on their plan to escape to Konoha when the bulk of Orochimaru's forces went for the Chuunin exams.

_***Flashback***_

There had been locked in their separate cells for about a few days before they were finally released by an entourage for guard ninja. They were lead through the maze like underground compound and soon enough they had been given rooms. The negotiations had been simple. Keep the girls and children safe and we will comply to joining you. Orochimaru, the slimy bastard, had put up and admirable façade of what seemed to be 'You are under my thumb and since you don't know anything, you have to obey me!' That would have been the case if they were average people with little to no interest in Manga and Anime. But since they were some of the most renowned cosplayers in the convention communities all around the world, it was impossible for such a scenario to even be remotely plausible. True, they didn't know where or when exactly they were. They had a vague sense of where exactly were Orochimaru's hide outs so that wasn't too much of a problem. And the when had been answered relatively soon enough by an irate Mokuton user.

At some point Leo had managed to get a hold of Lilly-Anne who had somehow managed to procure a kimono which was almost the same as her Shinigami Bleach outfit. She was also armed with a katana. Despite how confident she looked, Leo knew that it was just a front. She had only some basic stance and moves in her taijutsu arsenal, not to mention at least 25 unique poses she used along with her katana for photo sessions with fellow fans and cosplayers.

Leo could relate to why she was dressed like that, even if at least a bit. She felt more comfortable pretending to be Rangiku, who was a powerful katana wielder. It was easy to draw from her cosplay's confidence when there was nothing else you could comfort yourself with. Lilly had a good head on her shoulders as well. She was not as smart as himself or Fiona or Hannah, but she was perceptive and cunning and those were a dangerous combination to have. Still, despite her cool demeanor, he wondered how she would react to the news he had for her. About this world's Shinigami. He himself felt extremely ill at ease just by thinking about the possible complications. There was no doubt that there was a celestial presence, a higher being that took care and overlooked everything. So much for his atheistic delusions.

'_Lilly, we need to talk_.' He started almost casually in English, while she gave him a slightly intrigued glance.

'_Whatever about?'_

Leo sighed, thinking over yet again how to say this. It wasn't like she'd believe him right away. He cast glances left and right, which alarmed Lilly about his unnerved state.

'_Has something happened, Leo?'_ Her thin elegant brows were slightly knit together into a concerned frown.

'_I have the Death Note.' _He started slightly hesitantly, which was not typical for him. The Rangiku cosplayer realized what he was trying to tell her. Considering everything that had happened so far, that was no surprise. What she was more concerned about was how Leo was handling things.

Leopold was many things. He was extremely intelligent, to the point of being a prodigy in almost everything he applied himself to, he was cool and levelheaded. He was cunning and an excellent strategist. But for all the things he was, that made him so alike to Light Yagami, he was not one thing. Leo was not a murderer.

'_There is more. There are gods here. And we're supposed to be some sort of assistants to the Shinigami of this world. We have to talk to him soon… I don't like any of this.'_ The last part was practically breathed out, as he glanced nervously around him once again. Lilly smiled haughtily and then replied with an almost seductive voice.

'_Let's go to my room. And stop worrying so much, you're gathering attention. If anything I will cover for you now.' _Lilly winked at him and grabbed one of his arms, leading him to her room. Basically if anyone who did not know English saw what just transpired, they'd think the two of them were having an affair. Or that Lilly was a slut for sleeping with younger boys. She didn't care at the moment, because Leopold's news were distressing enough, and she needed to see this… Shinigami for herself.

When the two of them entered her room, the red headed youth pulled out the Death Note from one of his pockets and showed it to her. He didn't dare let her touch it. He had no idea what would happen then.

'_I was also given Shinigami sight, Lilly. I don't know what is going on but we will find out soon enough.'_

'_Do you think these gods allowed us to be summoned by Orochimaru?'_

'_I think that they allowed us not only to pass through but to adapt. We have chakra, Lilly! I have two chakra cores, which is impossible!'_

'_Do you think our world has gods as well?'_

Leopold remained silent. What he believed didn't really matter. For all he knew, their Gods had probably abandoned them, considering the fact they were summoned at all. For now, right on the spot he had come up with several very important questions he needed answers to, including the location of the people they were looking for.'

'_I don't think that matters anymore…'_ Leopold sighed then changed the subject. '_I was given one more thing.'_

He tugged at the sleeve of his left arm and Lilly could see a small wrist bracelet on his hand with something small hanging from it, which looked oddly like an ampule. Leo pulled at the bottom end of the ampule and with a popping sound and some smoke he now revealed himself to be holding enormous and extremely well decorated cobalt colored metal scythe. It was covered in skulls and other such morbid gothic designs from top to bottom and it looked really heavy, not to mention dangerous. Despite the fact that it looked almost normal, Lilly could see the outlines of very faint wisps of black smoke and image distortions of a very small scale directly above its surface. The scythe exuded an enormous amount of discreet power, which gave pulses every time Leo slightly shifted the scythe in his hand. Those pulses resonated intensely with what Lilly believed either to be her soul, or her chakra.

It was a bloody fucking genuine Death God's Soul Reaping Scythe, and by what Lilly gathered from Leopold's expression, he was handling it like a boss. She almost chuckled at the idea, but realized why he was so attentive to how he handled the scythe. That thing probably resonated even harder within him. The red head scowled slightly as he looked over the scythe. He was trying to mentally call the Shinigami to them. It was pretty much failing.

'_I am certain we call the Shinigami with this but I don't know-'_

And just then the lights in the room flickered, lowering their intensity to a minimum. Out of the darkest shadows of the room a presence began to manifest and soon enough these shadows started concentrating in the middle of the room, forming a shadowy vortex of black wisps. Their swirling motions intensified until finally dark purple lightning sparks appeared and no sooner than that a figure emerged from the eye of the vortex. Leo and Lilly had cautiously pulled away and then all the activity died down. Before them stood a tall man with a skull mask on his face. He wore an unnaturally black Kimono, simple sandals on his feet and a brown silken sleeveless jacket over the Kimono, with the kanji for Shinigami on his left breast. They could not see anything of his face, because there was a thicket of what seemed to be hair sprouting vigorously from the top of the skull mask and it covered his head completely. But they could see dark eyes in the eye holes of the mask. And they were watching them intently.

And then the man spoke.

'You should not be here and yet we let you.' he started. His voice was a rich, deep baritone that made the hairs at the back of their necks stand up. 'Do not be afraid of me, children. You will be working for me, after all, even if I did not consent to it.'

Leopold and Lilly looked at each other. Despite the sheer power radiating from him, his intent seemed benignant.

'There isn't a reason for you to be here, children.' He continued before Leo even opened his mouth. 'The one you know as Orochimaru has summoned you here based on one criterion only – to be fit for his hosts.' Shinigami chuckled darkly. 'Seals are quite the fickle thing. You see, summons require sacrifice for a reason. At least most of Orochimaru's do. In order to have you pulled out of your dimension, he has to give up something of equal value. Namingly, a human's life.'

The serious finality in his voice made them tremble again. Orochimaru had used an innocent victim's life to drag them across dimensions. It made for a 'nice' thing to make you sleep like a baby at night, Leo thought sarcastically.

'Orochimaru's summoning seal construct required people worthy of hosts. But the hosts he needs have to be strong enough and have chakra of their own. The world Orochimaru pegged down through dimensional theory crafting, was yours.'

'And we do not have chakra in our world.' Lilly added.

'That is correct. However, in order to even stay alive in our world, you need chakra. So we had to give you chakra that would fit you in a sense. The summon requires a sacrifice so we are compelled to 'help' the transition. It all depends on the structure of the seal, however, as it is basically a language of its own.' Shinigami sighed and then started talking again. 'You do not have the time to sit in on a lecture about seals so we must wrap this up as soon as possible.'

'Shi-Shinigami-sama, may we ask you a few questions?'

'Be quick about it. It isn't that I have work to do (which I do) but you do not have the time.'

Leopold nodded and took a deep breath.

'What happened with the others he summoned?'

'Your friends are well. The one called Hatorri has been living comfortably in Konoha. He caused quite the stir up but right about now he is trying for a ninja Hitai-Ate. And about the girls named Fiona, Rose and Michael – they ended up near Rain, though we did not anticipate so. The girl Fiona had a tight grip on both, which was why she is with them in Amegakure and not in Konoha with Hatorri, her brother.'

Leopold scowled slightly at what he perceived as a mix up but he did not say anything.

'Tiffany and Charlotte are in Suna. I must say the little red head has made quite the impression on the poor Jinchuuriki there.' Shinigami chuckled slightly at that. 'It is fascinating how sincere care and love can make such a difference in the world of such an individual.' He shook his head slightly.' The boy hasn't given me too much work these days, which is good for him and those around him. The three Woodsworth Siblings were an interesting case. I am impressed with the youngest one. She navigated them all the way from Snow Country to Konoha almost without an incident. And they unleashed…their full potential if that would be a proper way to say it.'

'Full potential? What do you mean, Shinigami-sama?' Lilly asked tentatively.

'We coat you with chakra and the power that will suit you. It takes special circumstances to unlock that power completely. During their long trip to Konoha they were attacked by missing nin. As a result the three of them managed to unlock their full power. Similar thing happened with Tiffany and the girl Sylvia.' The Shinigami smiled even though they could not see that through the mask. He was not going to tell them where she was. They were going to meet her today anyways. ' Charlotte as well, though you should ask her yourself if you get the opportunity.'

'What do you mean you 'coat' us with chakra, Shinigami-sama?'

'You are a smart boy Leo. It means what it means. You were created to stay alive without chakra. We gave you chakra the way it would suit you best. Kami thought that using your…cosplay was it? would be the best mold for that. Kami is not always competent. He tends to not deal with the mortal world a lot.' His voice sounded ever so slightly hesitant for admitting that. But they were now his …well, employees.

'So that is why we are your assistants now, Shinigami-sama?' Leo asked again.

'And that is also why this world has to deal with several new tailed beasts. To be honest, I don't think Kami thought this through. I don't think he even thought about it at all.'

'Are there any other people here?'

'Oh, there are, don't you doubt about that, child. You should know that there is this girl, a Summer, in Cloud as well. Time is running short so if you have more questions, be quick about it.'

'What kind of powers do we have, Shinigami-sama?' Lilly quickly took the opportunity.

'Thinking of escape so early, are we? Take your time to train, there is plenty of time until the Chuunin Exams in Konoha. As for your powers, you two are 'Shinigami' as per your respective Cosplays. Peter, Marco and Kathryn also have the powers of their respective Cosplays. Malena and Benjamin as well. You should be careful with what little Vincent does, however. He is only a toddler and yet he is the strongest out of your bunch. He has no idea how to control his power and his mother should keep an extra eye on him and so should you. And also be aware that Kate's child will naturally possess chakra as it will be born in this realm. Have this in mind. As for the rest… Tiffany is immortal but only because Kami overrules my own decisions. She does not overlap with Hidan and Kami found it entertaining to see what she could do with Chakra and guns. Charlotte, Summer and Fiona are not Jinchuuriki. For that there would be required two sentient minds in each of them. Sentience, even when you are a god, cannot be created with the snap of your fingers. You must understand that you are not our creations, but we can still modify you as you are in our realm of influence. For that reason alone they are Bijuu. It creates a great imbalance and I had the chance to make a further modification by adding something of a…defense system. Basically, they would find what they would believe is the Bijuu within them, but in reality would be a defense system to prevent them from realizing what they are too early and would also act as a control panel to sort out the Bijuu functions. Hatorri is an Uchiha through and through and has the cursed seal of Heaven second level. He is a good child and that would protect him from the corruptive powers of the seal.'

Suddenly, Shinigami turned to look at the door and then quickly back to them.

'Use your powers wisely and with restraint. I must be off.' With that, he simply dissolved into black mist and there wasn't a single hint of him ever being there.

Just as he disappeared, there was a knock on the door.

'_Lilly? Can I come in? Is Raito there?'_

It was Sylvia.

_***End of Flashback***_

That had been an amazingly eventful day. And. Considering all that was happening, Leo certainly had the right to lose even a tiny bit of control. When Sylvia had tried to pummel him as an act of self-righteousness, he did have the right to snarl at her with all of his arrogance.

'How was I supposed to know?' he had yelled at her. 'Do I look clairvoyant to you?'

That had been the wrong thing to say. Not because he had yelled it to her, but because he had been cursing Kami with every swear word he could come up with and Kami… he had taken it as a _challenge. _

Ever since that day he had been seeing, hearing and dreaming stuff that he could do without. Most often than not his visions were little things, pieces and snippets from past, present and future and he could not make anything of them. So far he had only a few straightforward epic dreams about the creation of Konoha and the day Kyuubi attacked the Hidden Leaf Village. Those had been awesome to see.

For the past several months many things had happened. And as of last week several of them were granted the chance to get the second level seal. Among their lot not all of them had seals. As per their deal with Orochimaru, the women and the children were spared of such eccentricities, but the rest of them weren't. Leopold, Ben, Peter and Marco were all branded like cattle and since they had come the same way Sylvia had, their chakra had also split up like hers and now they had 2 chakra cores. That was neat since they could use one and then the other and would last twice as long as they would've lasted without the second 'corrupted' chakra point. Furthermore, they had discovered that they did not suffer from chakra exhaustion side effects. That made them especially easy to train.

Sylvia had apologized for her behavior after a week or two and she had happily introduced them to her friend Kimmimaru, who was a very pleasant person to chat with. Little Tifa was especially fond of him and constantly asked him to make little figurines for her. She was too cute for her own good sometimes but the silver haired young man would often comply with her demands.

After having spent around 5 months in this new world, all of them had gradually worked on their particular set of skills, as Leo had subtly told them about his 'theory crafting' and the possibilities he had been suspecting were most relevant to their case.

Kate was a natural healer. When she did not spend time with her baby she would hang around in the infirmary where she would heal the wounded. Malena worked with Orochimaru when it came to her Origami skills and jutsu, since he had at least some experience with Konan of Akatsuki. Ben had stumbled upon the very strange child, as he had put it later, Karin. She seemed somewhat timid, but her faith in Orochimaru was adamant. She had the unique ability to sense people's chakra. And she liked Ben's chakra. She had said it was massive and yet tranquil and benignant in nature. Ben took up to teaching her this and that about sword fighting, since she kind of grew on him with her constant pestering.

Marco, Ben and Peter were the bad ass swordsmen of the group. Consequently their vigorous training, coupled with the near-death experience that was the application of the cursed seal of heaven, was what had given them a rapid growth in their skills. Lilly-Anne also wondered sometimes if she should apply herself for the seal, as those with it were a lot more powerful and faster learners than those without. Leopold had to warn her against it several times, telling her that that was a power trip she would not enjoy in the long run. After a while she had given up on that idea and was now training harder than ever. She became almost legendary with her lightning fast attacks and her ability to withstand the attacks from people who had activated their level one seals. Leo explained her vast improvement with the fact that she was well aware of how her chakra system worked thanks to the occasional visits of Shinigami. Occasional, since he had to come by quite often in order to reap the souls of the dead victims of Orochimaru's experiments. That and she always trained to a point well beyond her chakra exhaustion limit. Orochimaru even said once that he admired her stubbornness and desire to become stronger.

Leopold was not the most powerful among them, even though that he also spent the majority of his time training. In fact, Leo knew for certain that he was even the weakest amongst the men, which kind of sucked. He did compensate with his amazing wits and could be often seen reading through scrolls. The Death Note never went out of his sight. And during all those months he had never considered even for one moment to use it. Not even on Orochimaru, whom he saw on a daily basis.

Leo sighed. Sometimes it was annoying to be a prodigy and yet not be among the strongest in their group. He had to admit to himself that his arrogance was getting the better of him and he also understood that he had been too used to his own position of power back in his Earth days.

Then again he figured he would've felt a bit better if his second level cursed seal hadn't essentially been…Ryuk- the character he hated most in Death Note. Sylvia had laughed her ass off. And she had been a freakin' tree! And Ben's was really cool as well. He turned into something similar to Kisame's demon shark form. That was a good substitute for Samehada. Marco's and Peter's second level cursed seals were quite similar which reminded him heavily of the time he played Kingdome Hearts at Fiona's house. He still hated Mickey Mouse with a passion. But that wasn't really that relevant at the moment.

Anyways, Marco and Peter looked relatively normal, in comparison with the others. They just grew wings for the most part. Black wings. And both had Mako eyes and changed their skin color to something ghastly pale. He couldn't help but snicker at Marco's super Sayan spiky haircut.

All in all, the last 5 months passed quickly, with all that they did.

_**LINELINELINELINE**_

Peter's happiest day in his life was when he held his baby angel for the first time. She was the most beautiful thing he had even gazed upon and it was created from him and his wife, Kate. He loved them both so much that he knew if it came to dying for them he would never hesitate even for a millisecond.

He and his wife Kate and their 4 month old baby lived in one of the larger rooms of the compound. Everyday he, along with Ben, Leopold and Marco got up very early to train in one of the larger underground training facilities. Sometimes they would spar leisurely only with Taijutsu and sometimes it was a battle royale with the level two cursed seals active. It was mostly an air fight when Leopold, Marco and Peter fought and it was a fantastic sight to see Ben utilize some of the water Techniques Orochimaru had taught him.

All in all Leopold understood Shinigami's notion of them sticking around to train until the fabled Chuunin exams. He supposed that they wouldn't have become as strong if they were on their own. That morning he woke up early. Ben was supposed to teach him a new move for his katana which made him feel rather excited. Unlike the three mountain kings, as they had taken to call themselves, Leopold was about agility and speed. He preferred obscured attacks and he'd rather not attack at all but strategize and keep on the defensive. His Death Note, as always, was in his pocket. And whenever he felt for it, he promised himself to use it only as a last stand. Apart from his newly developed interest in one-handed swords, Leopold specialized in the abuse of metal wires, traps, throwing weapons and most of all sealing in the form of explosive tags. He had gotten really good at that and in other easy, minor seals. He preferred to have at least several easy mastered attacks and a few medium to high level decent attacks in his disposal. Most of his time, however, he spent in deciphering seals and learning about them. If Orochimaru used a summoning seal construct, then he was sure that he could find a way back via sealing. Things would be a lot faster if he had Hannah and Fiona at him. At least they were safe for now.

'Good morning Ben.' Leo greeted the large man with a small smile on his face. Even he, the eternally arrogant one, could not help but be friendly with the giant of a man. He was practically taller than almost all of the people in Oto, perhaps even Juugo. Either way, the 'Outlander group' as the ninja called them, always stuck together. It was the sense of kinship that kept them mostly civil with each other. At least most of the time.

'You seem to be in an exalted mood this morning.' The man of a giant commented, while looking at Leo.

'Hmm. Perhaps I had a good night sleep. Or perhaps you will help me with some of the jutsu I have been working on.'

'Ah. Always the business man I see. So what will we be doing today, apart from training?'

They continued their leisure chat until they arrived at one of the exits of the hide out. There was a lake quite nearby which they were allowed to exploit, due to its proximity. Contrary to popular belief, the ninja of Oto were not constricted to the underground facilities. They used the carefully hidden areas above them. This particular hide out had a huge lake near it, which was often used by training ninja. Ben had become particularly proficient in using his water based jutsu thanks to the lake and Leo had also found himself exploiting its usefulness quite often enough.

They were walking slowly, enjoying the morning sounds and sights, particularly the playful reflections of the sun's rays on the lake. The air was cool and full of the scents of the blooming flowers. If there was one thing that Leopold found himself enjoying despite his position, it was the purity of the nature about him. He figured that if…when they all returned, he would miss that. And those amazing huge trees that Konoha was famous for. He had no idea if he would ever grow accustomed to the pollution of their home world again. He imagined himself living somewhere secluded, breathing the fresh air. But it was just thoughts and he had too much to do to let himself taken by his fancies.

Ben opened one of the scrolls Leo had handed him. He looked it over carefully and then glanced at his young friend.

'Suiryuudan as a version of a water clone? Interesting idea. It will certainly cost three times as much chakra but might be just as worth.' A challenging grin appeared on his face, revealing his razor sharp teeth.

'Just be careful not to overload the jutsu. The modification I've made are only for a single dragon clone so if there are any more I do not know how it will turn out.'

'You worry too much over silly things, Red.'

Leo didn't answer but Ben was sure he was restraining a snarl. He hated when people called him Red. He couldn't help being the only Red Head in the group, just as Lilly-Anne could not help being a bimbo. Plus it was always fun to bring out the childish side of Leo. He always looked so serious and mature that Ben wondered if he ever had a childhood. That was one of those personal questions people refrained from asking but he thought that it would be appropriate to ask in a month or so. Not that he was really into these sophisticated social rules that people like Leo strived for, but he couldn't say he wasn't curious. And Ben was also a very honest, straight forward guy who tackled problems the best way possible – head on.

'Red? I am going to perform the jutsu now. ' Ben stated casually. Leo only grunted, and Ben was sure he was trying hard not to pout at his nick-name.

The two concentrated on their task and Ben formed his majestic Suiryuudan which could have made any water user jealous. Then, as he struggled to sustain it, he made an additional several seals in rapid succession and exclaimed the modified jutsu loudly:

'Suiryuudan Hyoumei no Bunshin no jutsu!' The strain of keeping it all together was palpable in the air and for several seconds Leopold was certain that even his heart had stopped beating, anxious to see if his modification worked or not. It was always like this whenever they tried something new. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. In the cases his modifications failed it was usually because there was something more he hadn't known about seals. And Orochimaru was a tight-lipped bitch. Leopold suppressed the shiver that wanted to go down his spine. He was pretty sure that which each passing day his subconscious was sounding more and more like Fiona. And he was pretty sure she would've added a nice blow job gay joke about his definition of Orochimaru.

Chakra was practically leaking from Ben and after several very long seconds it all ended. Ben reluctantly released the focus hand seal he was maintaining and stepped back to admire the water beast along with Leopold.

'Mighty fine job you did there, Red.' Ben praised affectionately. He even ruffled the teen's silky auburn hair.

'It should be sentient… It's a Water Bunshin…in a sense.' Leo cautiously stepped towards the mighty water beast.

It was transparent and as crystal clear as the water it was made of. Its texture, however, was that of the scaly beast it represented and there was a lot of detail into it.

'Can you understand me?' Leopold asked the giant creature.

It simply stared at the young man which made him feel unnerved. So far they had managed to solidify it and give it…life, in a sense. But the fact that it was still transparent meant that they still had a lot of work to do. Bunshins in general were not transparent but an exact clone of the person who made them.

'Urm… Ben, I don't think tha- Woah!' A watery tail swiftly wrapped around the red headed youth and pulled it closer to its head.

'Ben if that thing eats me I am going to haunt you until the rest of eternity!' Leopold yelled, his voice several pitches higher then what he would have liked.

And then the thing started shaking…was it laughing? A confused expression appeared on his face as Ben also started laughing like a maniac. Then the bloody beast just had to spray it with water for good measure. There went his perfectly combed, silky hair, much to his mortification. There was a little known secret. Neither of his parents had red hair. He was, in fact, the first red head in the family ever since his great-great-great-grand father had relocated from Ireland to America from where just recently his parents had moved to Paris. While that was not as relevant, the relevant part was that all of his father's family had curly hair to some degree. And Leopold's hair was naturally curly. He spent at least an hour every day making sure to keep his locks as straight as his sexuality. Ben fell on the ground, almost crying from laughter. The boy was just too mortified for his own good from a little water and his voice always got several notes higher when he was flustered. It was so hilarious it was almost cute. But Ben was a good person so he picked himself up relatively quickly (some two minutes later) and then he told his new pet, the Water Dragon Bunshin, to let Leopold go.

'Non-sentient. Only through my dead body.' Leo mumbled all the while running his hands through his hair, hoping it would be enough till he got back to his room.

By the time he came back outside, dry and with straight, soft, silky reddish auburn hair, Peter and Marco were already there, sparring with each other and their swords.

'Where is Ben?' Leopold asked curiously, since he couldn't see him anywhere.

The two men stopped their spar and looked at Leo.

'Good morning to you as well, Red.'

Leopold rolled his eyes at Peter's teasing greetings.

'He is playing with that jutsu you modified for him.' Marco stated as he nailed his bastard sword to the ground and rubbed his wrists.

'I figured he'd be doing that, but where is-'Just as Leo was trying to finish his sentence, not too far away from the three of them water erupted and a mighty silvery beast. On top of the grand-looking dragon was none other than a grinning Benjamin in all of his sun-kissed, muscle-ish glory.

'That is his tenth. He finally perfected the thing 5 tries ago.' Marco said, shrugging casually.

After spending six months in the Narutoverse, it had become obvious that any water jutsu was executable to their resident shark boy. He mastered those in the matter of hours, compared to the days and weeks it took normal ninja. Plus, by the grin on his face, Leopold was certain he had been having fun with this little modification of the jutsu. Leopold shook his head. Only Bennie would pull something like this off. Even if he did not have Samehada (as it was sentient and not possible to replicate due to free will and all that shit) he still had enough chakra to rival with the tailed beasts. Despite his legendary stamina, his swordsmanship skill was on par with Marco and Peter, and the three of them were, again, on a legendary level. It was due to their powers and the cursed seals. But those three were having more fun than anything else and no matter what Orochimaru tried they just couldn't feel tempted by it. Except when Peter stalked the underground halls, intimidating the Oto nin with his Sephiroth-ness.

Speaking of Sephiroth-ness, Peter wore his hair in a high tail to keep it from getting in his face or getting cut during practice. Marco, on the other hand, was trying to smooth down his naturally spiky hair. His resemblance with the fourth Hokage was still too uncanny. In the end Orochimaru told him to keep it that way. Leo was pretty sure at least he would get to go to the Chuunin Exam. Ben still kept his buzz cut and typical military wear. His sturdy boots were starting to wear though, to his great sadness.

Several minutes later the four of them prepared themselves for a spar. Him and Ben versus Peter and Marco. Leo was nothing compared to the other three, but having Ben on his side was good, because the two of them worked great as a team. What more could you ask from a resourceful red head and a stamina freak?

The four charged at each other, with Marco and Peter concentrating on Leopold, but Ben quickly pushing them away. Leopold, on his side, stepped several feet back after delivering a few blows to Marco's huge bastard sword. He den proceeded to unwind a bit of his thin ninja wire and prepared a knot with a kunai in it. It was a simple tactic he often used and in the heat of battle it was easy to miss a kunai on the ground. Leo threw the kunai towards Marco but he side-stepped it, never really seeing the wire attached to it. Simple always worked best. By the time Marco and Peter noticed something was wrong both were incredibly wrapped in Leo's trap. Simple and discreet. It worked 1 out of four times, depending on how aware were Peter and Marco. The spar ended with him carefully untangling the two sheepish looking swordsmen. The wire was thin and it could easily cut them into pieces.

Whenever Leo worked with Sephiroth the two of them used a different approach. Sephiroth kept them at bay with his extremely long katana while Leo would tackle them with whatever he had in handy, like smoke bombs or explosive tags, sometimes he even used senbons. All in all, however, Leo felt useless in comparison to the three swordsmen. But he applied himself where he excelled at. Subterfuge, traps and tactics. When they sparred between each other they rarely used ninjutsu or genjutsu. Sephiroth was a fiend at genjutsu and he preferred to practice that on actual oto nin. Marco had a knack for taijutsu mostly and he had also several fire jutsu and earth jutsu in his arsenal. Ben…Bennie was a stamina freak and the only thing that he did not apply himself was genjutsu. Not that he needed it when he could make almost anything out of water. Including the water dragon he now insisted on riding and having fun with. There wasn't a self-respecting macho who wouldn't ride a dragon with the silliest grin on his face. Leo was pretty sure he'd basically look the same way if he could pull it off. But the technique required enough chakra to probably power a small village's energy needs' worth for three weeks and then some. So, no dragon for him. But it was still cool that he had come up with the modification. If Fia was here she would've probably abused the damn thing into bursting. She had a knack for abuse. And that little Fia voice in his head slyly told him that abusing a dragon into bursting was very…kinky. Leo shook his head to clear it of the thought.

'Not bad for a kid, Red.' Marco commented while the four of them prepared for practicing their taijutsu.

Leo sighed and shook his head. Back on Earth he at least got some respect for being a prodigy and for being the Death Note Fan Club leader. Here, however, he was the 17 year old Red, who was not quite an adult yet and was the youngest person in the group, the little children not included. And, he bitterly had concurred months prior, being put in the same group with a 5 year old and a 3 year old was not fun. Where was all the respect? Where was the mutual understanding for mature behavior? All down the drain. Why? Because he was under age and because no one could compare to Peter's intimidating appearance or Ben's mountain-ness. So far they still looked up to him for plans and tactics but right now their leader was Peter. Leopold felt a slight note of jealousy attached to that thought. He was used to being the leader, the one who made the wise decisions. But since Peter was the soundest choice after himself and since he was one of the people with the greatest progress so far in their training, it was only natural that everyone was inclined to follow his lead.

Leopold should've seen it coming, really. In a world where ninja were ranked by their skill, Peter would practically be promoted to Kage if they had their own little village. Hidden Fanclub Village. Heh. But what was more relevant, was the fact that there were so many leaders in the same group. Apart from himself and Peter, there was also Lilly-Anne who probably had the same feelings as himself. Marco was not much of a leader personality, but he was sure Ben could set them all where he wanted them to be if he felt like imposing his military training and discipline on them. Leo mentally shivered at the thought. One Tifa was bloody enough, thank you very much. The silver-haired Tifa, not the little Tifa. That woman scared the willies out of him when she got pissed off about something. He wondered how the hell Fia never felt intimidated by her. Then again Fia lacked common sense so he was felt foolish for being surprised about this at all.

Furthermore, there was also Orochimaru and his constant meddling in the picture. The bastard made sure to keep an eye on them and it was getting tiring to pretend they were talking about irrelevant things. At some point they might've crossed the naturalization threshold and Leo feared the concept of being stuck in this world forever. It wasn't the scientist in him that was complaining. It was his sense of right. And it wasn't right for them to be here. They have probably already destroyed the entire timeline, something that sometimes kept him awake at night.

And then there were the constant little snippets of … something. Stress had gotten too familiar with his nervous system. He needed to do something about that. But right now, he needed to figure out how to get themselves in the Chuunin Exams and bust the kids as well as the adults ( and he felt himself a bloody adult, dammit!).


	51. Meanwhile in Konoha and other places

**Chapter 51**

**When the saints go marching in part 1**

_**A/N: I am a baaaaad person for making you guys wait for so long. But please consider my medical education and my hard exams. I didn't really have a summer vacation as I spent most of it studying for some left over exams. Namely Anatomy and Physiology. I also have Microbiology, but at least I passed Physiology and now I have to give one final try on Anatomy. I'm not even going to pay attention to Microbiology until I can take a few relaxing days break after the anatomy exam. **_

_**Anyways, here is the new chapter, I think you guys will like it since it has so much stuff in it. Enjoy.**_

Ebony. It was always ebony. Like her very own trademark. Whether angry, sorrowful, annoyed, happy, passionate or just plainly tranquil. It was always ebony. The vines, the roots, the trees and the bushes. The flowers that she occasionally grew when exceptionally happy. Delicate white flowers with soft petals that contrasted so thoroughly with their black stems. That red head Leo had commented how the flower itself was an ebony flower. Kimmimaru found himself feeling aggravated ever so often when that arrogant ponce was around. He knew he was being irrational, but he valued Sylvia too much to let that person near her. Not dissimilar was the sense of unease around Orochimaru. He knew that soon he would have to make the choice between him and Sylvia. And he knew what would happen when that time came.

The silver-haired youth spent most of his time with Sylvia and she was not a person who could hide their turmoils well. He knew her too well and he knew that they were all planning some sort of escape. Orochimaru knew that as well, he was sure. He had no idea what he was planning and that was yet another thing to put him ill at ease.

Even though their very nature of being outlanders was enough reason for them to stay within Orochimaru's confines, Kimmimaru knew that they had to leave. It pained him to think of Sylvia leaving and never seeing her again, but he also knew that was the right thing to do. It was not natural to keep them around.

'What are you doing?'

Kimmimaru's eyes snapped open and he peered into the intensely coloured eyes of Sylvia.

'Thinking.' Was his simple answer.

'I could see that. What were you thinking about?'

'The future. The choices we have to make.'

'Hm.'

She had been thinking about it as well, he could tell just by the slight crease of her eyebrows. Hope and anxiety flickered in her eyes before they were completely overwhelmed by the stormy fury that fuelled her progress.

'I have been thinking about that as well.'

'I could tell that easily. You should work more on concealing your emotions, Sylvia.'

Her heart felt like it skipped a beat every time Kimmimaru used her name. It was not often, as if he was reluctant of the taste it left on his lips. It was like this as of the past two months or so. It was quite possible, she reasoned, that she found him attractive. Well, more attractive than usual, though that sounded silly even within the confines of her cranium. He was lean and muscular, his physique at the peak of the humanly possible and he had the most enchanting green eyes she had ever seen. They were humble and noble, displaying a type of strength and serenity that she had ever seen only in him and in no one else. They held the wisdom of a tired old man, someone who had lived a long, tedious life. He knew he was going to die, and yet he paid that fact no heed. A ball of ice dropped in her stomach. She wished she could cure him. Maybe if one of those geniuses, Leo especially, would apply themselves to save him…

Sylvia realised she had been staring at him for a while now and turned her gaze away, though that did not bother the silver-haired youth one bit. When had all of this happen? She wondered idly, while inspecting her folded hands in her lap with mild interest. She was older than him by at least five or six years. Kimmimaru was the most mature person she had ever met and at the same time she realized that he had no idea how to treat girls like, well, girls. He had an air of nobility around him, while she was never in a state of tranquillity for long. When had love blossomed between them? She needed to sort this out fast, before things got out of hand. The problem was that she had no idea how to sort it out.

888

Benjamin was the gentle giant that everybody loved being around. The benign aura that he brought about his person made even the ever suspicious Oto-nin more at ease around him. One in particular was following him around like a lost puppy. Ben was usually not a person to dish out bad news, not outside work that is, but he had to break it to Karin or else they would be both in trouble and she would be punished for not doing her job properly.

'But Ben-sempai!' The little red head squirt bounced around him, her large crimson eyes looking at him pleadingly. 'Please, Ben-sempai! I want you to teach me!'

She always did that. The kid just wanted to be around him just to bask in his benign radiance, as she had put it once in words. The kid just made him highly uncomfortable. But he just couldn't not comply with her pleading words. So he taught her. While he was not versed in ninja arts and was picking up from instinct, he was well versed in endurance training. Thus he did what he did best. Military drills.

Today, Karin had made particularly good progress with the drills. Despite how hard it was, and despite the fact it was nothing like the ninja training she had done before she met Ben-sempai, she felt herself happy with what she was accomplishing under his watchful gaze. He was a good teacher too. He never lost his temper, no matter how many times she nearly fainted from exhaustion. Those first few days were one of the hardest in her life. He was always patient, but never lenient. He explained and pointed out where she could improve and where she should be more careful. To her, Ben scaled on top of her awesome chart. To any other passing person, it was like watching a huge guard dog teaching a small duckling how to do the job. In other words-hilarious. But now her muscles were really starting to show and her chakra pool had expanded considerably. Along with her usual training and her persistence to be in the good graces of both Ben and Orochimaru, she had become a better ninja and she felt some of that confidence that ben exuded all of the time.

On the other side Ben was wondering if this was what it was like to have a child. Someone that looked up to you with unquestionable awe. He had seen it in Vinnie's and lil' Tifa's eyes when they looked at their mother and father. And the way Charlotte looked at his Tifa all the time. It was often that these kind of thoughts occurred to him. Imagining what it would be like if he had a family of his own. It was about time too, he figured. He was nearing his 30ies and what relationships he had had had been short-lived and not serious enough to his liking. He wondered what it would be like if he started a family with his most staple companion- one Tiffany Mitchels. She was so over-protective of children and young people in general that he was almost sure she would make a perfect mother. He wondered if she was doing all right, though he was not really worried about her. Tifa had her way with survival situations and for her it was as easy as breathing. She was a hard-core survivalist of a sharp shooter with a dirty mouth. She was rough all over and she didn't give a damn about excuses. You either were or you weren't. You either did or didn't. She did not cut anyone any slack. And he loved every bit of that attitude. He would make sure to tell her that the next time he saw her. He hoped that would be soon. And what of the red-headed squirt Karin? She was a good kid. A bit whiny and arrogant but eager to please and determined. He wondered if she'd come with him when the time for the great escape arose. One was never too sure about ninja.

In the beginning, when they first met, Orochimaru's word was her law and religion. Now, however, she was starting her first attempts of defying Orochimaru in one way or the other. Her tardiness with prison watch was a good example. If it weren't for her unique skill, she would've been severely punished. She was watching out for herself more and he hoped that that meant in some way that she was aligning with them. He had no real way to tell for sure, though, and that worried him. She was a good kid and she had the potential to become a great person if given the chance. He wanted to give her that chance and guide her away from the evil that was Orochimaru.

'Ben? Can I talk to you for a second?' it was Lily.

'Certainly.' The giant of a man turned to the still running Karin. 'Finish your laps, I'll be right back!'

'Hai!' came the girl's breathless reply.

'So what do you want to talk about, Lily?'

'Orochimaru has chosen who will come with him to the Chuunin exams. Peter wants to talk to all of us immediately.'

Lily Anne seemed unusually pale and strained. Ben had the feeling he wasn't going to like what he'd hear. He gestured for Karin to come over and then he told her to take a break, while he dealt with this meeting.

888

'Lily and Leo.' Peter finally spoke.

'I thought he'd want those two, since they're young and would be less conspicuous when trying out for chuunin.' Ben exclaimed, not too surprised.

'Still, I am surprised he chose us to go as his team.' Leopold was just as anxious as Lily Anne.

'He wants to keep a close eye on us. He knows we're up to something even if he is certain we have no idea what lies beyond his confines. By having Lily and Red with him, he ensures that we won't do anything. It's like keeping them hostage.' Peter sounded more strained than anything else. 'The rest of us will stay here and won't be able to do anything out of fear for them.'

'Not necessarily.' It was Sylvia who spoke this time, which somewhat surprised Leo. He was too used to her being a quiet, reclusive person. This new her, born out of necessity was different, more confident, less self-conscious and more aware of her surroundings. There was fury in her eyes that reminded him of both MJ and Tifa even if the two were so different.

'What do you mean?'

'Ki- I mean _he_ would definitely help us. I mean a lot to him.' A very small but well covered blush appeared on her ivory skin. 'And that means one other will help as well.' Juugo.

Leo sighed. Attachment was inevitable, even if he personally tried to keep away from the locals. When the time came to go back home, that would cause unneeded harm… but it was everyone's choice. They had to make that choice for themselves. Sylvia could not hide her cringe completely when she saw Leo's reaction. She was all too aware of what was going to happen in the end. But she had been here too long. She had decided months ago that she would not dwell on what would happen when the time came. One step at a time. Right now she wanted out of Orochimaru's clutches and her immediate goal was to figure out what to do with Kimmimaru.

'It's high time to start working on a real plan. While we are able fighters we have to think of Kate and the children. It is obvious one of us must cover their escape. It cannot be you, Peter.'

The silver-haired man's eye widened, but he knew Leo was right.

'That is true, as much as it pains me, I am the recognized leader of us all. It is my duty to get us all out of here and I trust Malena and Marco will keep them safe.'

'My sword is yours to command, General.'

They all chuckled at Marco's attempt at humour, but the strain was visible on their faces. Aerith started crying and Kate started lulling her back to sleep. Vincent was clutched to his mother's leg while Tifa was trying to figure out how to help the adults.

'What about Vinnie? You know how he always ends up at places all the time.'

'Honey, you needn't worry yourself about this. Let us adults handle it.'

'But-'

Malena smiled at her daughter and patted her head.

'It'll all be fine, sweetheart, you just keep your brother safe.' Marco stated and then turned to talk with Peter again. 'We know the general layout of the facility. We know the general direction of the leaf village and we certainly are able to get there if we push ourselves hard enough. We need to keep an eye out for the right window of opportunity or we risk blowing our whole operation.'

The next three hours they discussed plans among themselves. Yes, they were spied upon and it was obvious to any self-deserving ninja that they were plotting. There was no point to hide either as it was expected of them to plot their escape, no matter how unlikely it was for them to escape, at least in Orochimaru's eyes.

And the Snake Sannin was preparing for the moment they would attempt running away. The moment they strike would be the moment he would break any hope for escape.

888

Peace and tranquillity. Equilibrium. Freedom. Enlightenment. These would be of the few choice words Summer would use to describe her current residence. A Giant Turtle filled to the brim with fantastic beasts and even more astounding flora. Every time she thought about it, she found herself thinking about that book from Harry Potter 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. At first she was terrified to her very core. There were humongous beasts walking about and ready to kill her in a millisecond if it weren't for B. And B-sensei was amazing. He inspired her to work harder for the sake of that hardly won praise of his. She still remembered her first week on the turtle island as if it was yesterday…

_**-Flashback-**_

'_My god…Yugito-san! This place is amazing_!' Summer's excitement echoed throughout the island. She spun around while exploring the environment with her sight. The air carried the fresh salty smell of the sea breeze, the sweet scents of the tropical flowers and the musky air of an ancient forest within it. The sky was perpetually clear of any sort of cloud and the sun was scorching all in its rays' wake even this early in the morning. The American girl laughed with giggly mirth as she took a few excited steps about. When B showed up he smiled at her enthusiasm and nodded a few times for good measure even if he could not discern a single word of her English excited babbling. Yugito was next to show up. It was only the three of them who had stayed on the island. The other ninja had left during the night with the boat, leaving them the only human beings in these dangerous wilds.

After a nutritious breakfast consisting of some type of cooked bird meat and fruits and roots from the island, the three of them did not lose any time to get to the Falls of Truth. In all honesty, Summer was a combined bundle of nerves and excitement. She wondered what the falls would show her. She wanted to know her true self, and that alone would be accounted as one of her greatest personal accomplishments in her life. She knew the gravity of that fact and for that reason she tried her best to keep up with her ninja companions.

It took her three hours to calm down enough in order to try meditating (even if she had never done so in her life). In total, she spent nearly 7 hours sitting at the fall, B and Yugito waiting patiently for her to return.

What she saw was not what she had expected. In fact, she was surprised by the obvious lack of… difference. She saw herself, her hair perfectly combed and arranged, her face adorning a soft happy smile. Her inner self was wearing the dress her mother gave her for last year's birthday. But then she noticed the difference.

_I am strong for my strength stems from others._

_I am kind for that is my justice._

_I care for who am I without my precious ones._

_I am independent for I am my own self._

_I listen but make my own decisions._

_I am happy for I am surrounded by my loved ones, whether they are next to me or far away._

**I am strong because I choose to be strong.**

**I am kind because I choose to be benevolent.**

**I care because I choose to love.**

**I am independent because THIS IS MY LIFE.**

**I listen because I choose from all the options.**

**I am happy because I choose to be happy.**

**I am**_ steadfast as _**the wind that **_carries the _**winter chill**_ of the rising _**December. **

_I am _**grace incarnate **_as the sirens _**of the blue** abyss _of the_** Great Oceans.**

**I am **_daring_ **as the raging**_ inferno of _**the molten core **_of our Earthly _**Domain.**

**I am **_patient_** as the eternal** _rock of the _**mountain slopes**_ from lands _**near and far.**

_I am___**wisdom **_for I acknowledged __**the words of my **__ancestors _**and the ancestors of** their ancestors.

An overwhelming sense of understanding and peace. Of enlightenment. What was before her struck her with the benevolent aura and the sheer power that was radiating. It was surreal and she found herself deciphering the words that both of them had spoken as if in some sort of prophetic trance. The experience was pierced by mysticism and awe, but what Summer understood from it was that everyone had a deeply personal and individual encounter with their inner self. She also acknowledged the fact that her other self's eyes had become cat-like by the end of the whole thing. Like two fiery ambers.

By the time she woke up in the real world it was already dark outside.

_**-End of Flashback-**_

_**-Flashback 2-**_

'_Yugito, I don't see the Bijuu_!'

'Summah-san…you…you are the Bijuu…' Yugito's eyes were large like saucers with disbelief and her voice was trembling from shock and awe.

_**-End of Flashback 2-**_

Two days after the astonishing revelation were what it took for summer to shake off the initial shock of losing her humanity. Instead of panicking and causing destruction, as Yugito feared would happen, the American girl had frozen in her place and neither spoke nor appeared to listen to what was spoken to her. Her eyes were glass-like and her breath was shallow. Her skin was unusually pale and her hands were numb and cold.

After those two days she cried for two more days. Then, on the fifth day, she felt lighter. There was nothing to do about that fact. Whatever had happened was a finished fact and she couldn't change it. She had realized she did not feel any different from before. The fifth day was spent in contemplation. On the sixth day she sought out B and Yugito who were patiently waiting for her to pick herself up. On that day B grew to respect her just for those few words she spoke to him.

'_I am still me and nothing can change who I am. Be it rain or shine, I am steadfast and nothing has changed._' She spoke quietly, but with iron resolve in her soft voice. '_A wise man once said that with great power comes responsibility and I think that I am a responsible person. So I am going to do the right thing and ask you to train me, B-sama._'

She had bowed while Yugito translated her words, feeling the determination and acceptance through their bond.

On the seventh day her training began. And in reality, nothing really had changed. Nothing that mattered.

It had been many months after that, but it was finally time to return to Kumogakure. It was finally time for her fate to be decided by A-sama and the village council. And it was also high-time for B's students' report to be found out.

**888**

As usual, Hatorri woke up early in the morning and set out to prepare breakfast before Sasuke woke up. The ninja graduation was going to be soon (namely tomorrow) and he hoped that things would go the way they should, despite the changes that had occurred so far. The scent of breakfast filled the house and Sasuke was roused from his slumber. He headed down immediately and greeted Hatorri sleepily before digging into his dish. By the time Sasuke was done with breakfast Hatorri was already on his way to the Hokage tower. His results would be out any day now. According to Anko he was easily Jounin material but it would be better if he started out as a Chuunin. He understood her reasons to give him such advice. She herself was stuck being Tokubetsu Jounin and because of Orochimaru's stigma she was not allowed to progress any further. He hadn't commented on that but he had kissed her on the cheek, a display of sincere affection that she enjoyed immensely. It was childish and innocent and it showed her that he cared for her not just as an object of desire, but as a person.

Hatorri never really expected himself to find a stable relationship with the over-exuberant Anko. She was, at first glance, promiscuous, scary, crazy and a bitch. But he took his time to get to know her as she had taken her time to spy on him and stalk him. His sense of honour and his gentleman up-bringing did not allow him to just ignore the pretty lady, even if she was known as the crazy snake bitch from the Torture and Interrogation Department.

For all these months he had spent with Anko, he had found out many things. She was lonely and an outcast among her fellow Konohans. She was bloodthirsty and easy to anger. But she was also loyal and devoted, loving and attentive, and _**the sex was amazing**_, even if he did not speak about it with anyone. The two of them were comfortable with each other and Hatorri knew that Anko would not cheat on him just as he would not cheat on her. It was not in his nature and he had told her about his parents' divorce and what had brought it up.

The swapping of life stories happened about a month ago, during their mandatory star gazing Thursday night at the shores of the Uchiha lake. It had been like a cheesy sappy moment in a sappy romance novel. But it had been natural, talking about each other's lives, about family and such. Anko listened with great interest about his huge family, about his cousins Albert, Percival and Brian, about his uncle Jasper from whom he had gotten the music fever. He told her about how he had started his first martial arts lessons and how he played American football for his high school team. She listened and when she had told him about her past he listened quietly as well. His warm embrace made her feel protected and loved and after such a long time she finally felt at peace with some parts of herself. One person was enough for her. One person that accepted her completely, despite everything.

Hatorri sighed sadly, already missing Anko. That morning he had woken up to find a note on his night table from Anko. She had left it during the night. It said she was going on a long mission that had been urgent. She could not tell him anything else, but she had left a kiss print on the note. That note was now in the inner pocket of his leather jacket right next to his heart. Somehow this was going to be normal for both of them soon enough. Taking long leaves for missions and not seeing each other. It was a stressful way of life and he was not comfortable with it. He wanted to spend a lot of time with those he cared about. He did not like being a ninja, but he had no choice in the matter. Not at the moment at least.

While Hatorri was on his way to the Hokage tower, Sasuke was already at the Ninja Academy, waiting patiently on his seat for school to start. Another student, one that had spiky blond hair, blue eyes and whiskers on his cheeks was running like a mad man possessed towards the academy. Naruto had overslept and now he was trying to be as least late as possible. He took a turn and before he knew it, collided with a non-suspecting Konohan civilian. Naturally, the man started shouting at Naruto.

'You idiot brat! Watch where you are going!'

'Who are you calling an idiot, you old geezer!'

'I'm calling you an idiot, you midget punk! Show some respect to your seniors, brat!'

'Respect! Who do you think you're talking to, geezer? I'm the future Hokage of Konoha, Grandpa! When I become Hokage, you'll be the one showing me respect! Believe it!'

'You! Hokage? Brat, do you see that monument over there? Do you know what those men did to get their faces on that mountain? Those men earned the respect they have! And what about you, punk? You're always running about and causing trouble! Learn your place, brat, and do something useful for once!' The man then turned away and went on his way.

'Hey!' Naruto yelled after him but the man paid him no heed. The blonde prankster furrowed his brows, scowling at the encounter he just had. He looked at the Hokage monument. Those men were recognized by all shinobi villages. They were respected and most of all- they were acknowledged. He would become Hokage one day and then he would be the most respected person by the villagers. After all, he had all the right qualities to become Hokage. He was fearless, strong, cunning and the number one most surprising ninja (future ninja) of all times. To become a Hokage, the ninja had to keep his cool when facing adversaries and the ninja had to be daring. In fact, Naruto was those things as well. He'll show that stupid villager!

888

'Hokage-sama, Hatorri-san is here to see you.'

'Show him in.' Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even turn to look at his secretary as he was busy rewriting an ancient jutsu scroll.

'Right away, Hokage-sama.' The secretary bowed respectfully and closed the door behind her. No three seconds later the door was opened again and Hatorri entered the Hokage's office.

'Hokage-sama.' Hatorri bowed just as the secretary had.

'I must say I am impressed, Hatorri-san. Your results are befitting for one with Uchiha blood.' Hiruzen tipped his brush into the ink.' I must say you show skill and proficiency equal to those of an experienced Jounin. However, I cannot pull too many promotions under the nose of the Village council and you must be ranked as Chuunin. Apart from you, Misoshi-san and Hannah-chan, no one else from your… group have shown interest in making a ninja career. A week ago Hyuuga Hiashi contacted me and informed me that Helen-san and Sai-san have decided not to pursue ninja careers. They wish to remain less conspicuous. However, they are going to assist Hiashi from what I understood. I hope there are no hard feelings about this situation, Hatorri-san. Your skill would be greatly beneficial to Konoha either way.'

'It is nothing, Hokage-sama. I am sure that I would earn Jounin rank at some point. I am glad that I would no longer be a burden to Konoha and would be a helping hand instead.' Hatorri bowed for good measure, the happy, friendly smile never leaving his face.

'I am glad we resolved this without problem, Hatorri-san. You are a good man and you carry a will of fire of your own.' I had to choose from the three of you who wanted to be ninja, and, to be honest, from all of you Hannah showed greatest skill. The ANBU have taken to calling her the Glass Cannon, and considering their respect for her I had little to no qualms about appointing her to ANBU. Misoshi san agreed to take Chuunin rank as well. I cannot, however, appoint you missions right away. As it is, we have plenty of Chuunin with permanent duties and since you do not have teams yet I suggest training for now, until I have sorted through all of the schedules.'

'Understood, Hokage-sama.'

'Hokage-sama!' Two ninja burst into the office that very moment. Hiruzen turned to look at them. They looked hassled and irritated, and they were covered in paint .

'What is it? Is Naruto causing trouble again?'

'Oh boy…' Hatorri mumbled, knowing what will happen next.

'Yes! That punk Naruto is desecrating the Hokage Monument! And this time with paint!'

The Hokage sighed and looked apologetically at Hatorri.

'It seems I am wanted elsewhere and we must cut this meeting short.'

'It isn't a problem for me Hokage-sama.'

'Hatorri-san?'

'Yes?'

The Hokage handed Hatorri a Hitai Ate.

'Congratulations.'

The young man grinned cheekily, reminding the old man all too much of the Fourth Hokage who had the same grin on his face. Hiruzen put on his Hokage Hat and his Hokage Robes and followed the two ninja out of the office. Hatorri kept on smiling, his face practically glowing with happiness. Even if he did not want the life of a ninja, he was always glad to help and to apply himself where his strength and talents lied. Fighting ninja was one of those qualifications. He wondered if Helen and Simon refused a ninja post on Hannah's order. She might be an asocial person, but she was incredibly smart and perceptive. And she could also make the Hokage sweat just by staring at him. Lesser men have run away in fear, he guessed. Hatorri shrugged and then headed towards the market. Lunch had to be made and then dinner and he always preferred his vegetables and meat fresh. Idly enough, he wondered if the ANBU were treating Hannah well. A soulless person she may be, but she was a little girl still and one had to treat girls of all ages with proper manners.

**-Flashback-**

It was a revision day at the Academy. Nothing too hard. Iruka had deemed the students ready for a surprise revision of the Henge technique. He had spoken with his friend Mizuki about it and he had also come to the conclusion that it was a very good idea. However, they hadn't taken into account the presence of one Hannah, pathological sociopath extraordinaire.

'All right class, it is time to do a revision on your Henge skills.' Iruka's enthusiasm was not shared by his students, but he did smile encouragingly. Hannah was among the first to line up in front of Iruka, holding poor Hinata-chan's hand and pulling her along as usual. Along the first to line up was the over-achieving Sakura and her rival and best friend Ino. If those two applied themselves to studying the ninja ways as they applied to their rivalry, they would've graduated two years prior.

Hannah went first, without being called, as well. She simply transformed into Iruka, at which point the Chuunin nodded. And then he did something that completely mystified Mizuki for the next 2 minutes or so. He punched Hannah, as transformed as she was, and then Hannah disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'Eh?' was Mizuki's only reaction. 'Some sort of Bunshin?'

A child of that age doing that… it was obviously a sign for exceptional ninja skills.

'That's right, Mizuki-sensei.' That was Hannah's voice. Coming from Iruka.

Mizuki never really noticed when the switch had happened. In fact, it was in that particular moment that the Real Iruka had chosen to enter the classroom. Two days later, Hannah was taken out of the Ninja Academy by Iruka, on grounds that they couldn't teach her anything she did not already knew. News of her so called shenanigans had reached certain people of Konoha's elite. One of them was Danzo and he had requested a meeting with her from Hyuuga Hiashi himself. The Hokage had been surprised at first when he learned that Hiashi had agreed to that meeting. Then he remembered that this was Hannah. The same Hannah who supposedly had a psychiatrist for an imaginary friend. The same Hannah that would probably fight Uchiha Itachi into a prolonged stalemate and then simply pull another astonishing stunt and blow him into smithereens, Juuken style, of course.

'So you must be the little Glass Cannon?'

There was no reaction from Hannah, but if there was, it would be her Lolicon alerts. Danzo's vibes at that particular moment had been that creepy. Who wouldn't want a prodigious emotionless person for their very own organization? According to Hiashi, when he told Hiruzen of the encounter, Danzo had been extremely disinterested in the end. Why? Well…

'My Psychiatrist says he doesn't like you.' That had been Hannah's only words after staring for a period of time into an empty spot of space.

**-End of Flashback-**

While Iruka was screaming at Naruto to stop his idiotic pranks and while Hatorri was helping several old ladies with their groceries out of chivalrous nobility and gentleman-ness, in another part of Konoha Hannah was making an acquaintance with an ANBU assigned to train her for the ANBU tests.

He had a cat mask and his ANBU codename was Tenzo. It had been the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Or it would have been if Hannah was able to make any actual social bonds. The poor Tenzo had to actually figure out by himself that she was really an emotionless person and not trained into it. It was a dirty trick, but he guessed that the Hokage could do whatever he wanted if he so pleased. Within reasons, of course.

'So, Hannah-san. What do you think we will be doing today?' Tenzo tried to start a conversation with the girl. He was being polite and friendly, the stories from his fellow ANBU about her still haunting his mind.

The girl looked at him for a few moments, and then spoke.

'My psychiatrist says that I must undergo evaluation in order to determine how prepared I am for the ANBU exam. However, I was evaluated when I first came here, hence such evaluation is not needed. If anything, I have grown stronger since the last evaluation.'

'Does that mean you want to be evaluated again, Hannah-san?'

'It would be the most desired course of action. My psychiatrist says we should begin with a light spar, in order for you to determine my Taijutsu levels. However, I disagree.'

'How so, Hannah-san?'

'I would prefer if we start with warm-ups, so that you would determine my stamina levels first.'

Tenzo sighed mentally. It was going to be a long day. And wasn't he supposed to be the one giving orders here? He decided to see how things would work out today and then he'd give his opinion. The girl was not trying to curb his status as her Sensei. She was just giving him her opinion on the best course of action. Then again there was this imaginary psychiatrist she kept talking about. He heard it even scared Danzo away. Maybe he'd like her as a pupil. The ANBU exams were only several weeks away so that meant they had little time for all the preparations they needed.

'I find that to be an acceptable course of action, Hannah-san. Let us start with ten laps around Konoha.'

'Understood, Tenzo-sensei.'

Several hours later found the two of them doing all sorts of push ups, sit ups, stretches and so on. It was around noon by the time they were done with their warm ups. Apparently Tenzo found it easier for her if he did the exercises along with her. She seemed to measure his progress and contemplate on what she needed to improve. A coat of sweat covered both of them as they had started sparring. Surprisingly enough, Hannah did not use Juuken, and used some sort of foreign martial art. It was only when he started using Mokuton that she switched to Juuken. It seemed a very effective tool against hard wood. Her strikes were always on the mark, efficient and most of all- swift. Once they had finished sparring, he went on with Ninjutsu training. Hannah proved to have a rather large arsenal of all kinds of jutsu, mainly water and earth ones, but her chakra pool was only slightly above average. It would take years before she'd reach her full potential but even now she was low Jounin level chakra-wise. Genjutsu was not her strong point in terms of making them, but she was well versed in five different ways for dispelling them. She also proved exceptionally proficient with her Byakugan, whether using it to full capacity or just in a certain direction. Her aim with senbon, shuriken and especially Kunai was also impressive and Tenzo found himself barely dodging some of those thrown weapons. What really made impact was how Hannah used all three types of weapons, which would somewhat confuse lesser opponents as they had different ways of throwing, different speeds, and most of all, different attack power. So far she had landed one hit with a kunai, which had slightly scraped against his mask type forehead protector. There was a short break for lunch and by the time it got dark the two of them sparred continuously. It was around dinnertime that Tenzo finally called it a day.

'Very impressive, Hannah-san. I am content with your current skill level. There are a few things that I took note of. First of all, I have never seen anyone so efficient with their chakra. I noticed how you varied in your chakra use, sometimes completely disregarding it in favour of storing it for later. That compensates for your slightly above average chakra level and for your mediocre Genjutsu performance. What I really liked about your style was the fact that you made quick work with dispelling Genjutsu in the most efficient way possible. I am certain that you are tired and that your chakra levels are currently low, but if this was a stamina intensive fight, a real fight, then you would have prevailed with your efficiency. I've rarely seen such superb chakra control. That alone would make you an Excellent ANBU and dare I say it- an extremely dangerous opponent. While you work great alone I've yet to see you work in a team environment and, to be honest, Hannah-san, I fear that you lack the needed teamwork skills. You tend to take charge of the situations, at least from what I've observed and I do not know if that is on purpose or not, but out on the field you have to listen to your team leader. Teamwork is one of the most important aspects of being ninja. Whether you and your team mates like or hate each other should not be under any circumstance a concern during a mission. Long term missions are especially vulnerable if two or more teammates do not sync to their full capacity. While the Hokage sometimes takes that into account, it is not possible for him to always set up a team whose skills work amazingly well together and they also like each other.'

'I suppose such concerns are natural to appear. I do not possess the capacity to feel any sort of ambition to lead or to cause trouble. However, I do believe that my assessment skills are superior to those of most people and due to that confrontations may arise. I would do my best to avoid confrontation with my team leader and team mates in general.'

There was a relieved pause. And then Hannah continued talking.

'My psychiatrist says that teamwork and social bonds are very important. I am not capable of making such bonds but I am capable of following orders and defending my teammates if need be. He also says that you missed a very important point, considering my ANBU trial.'

'And that is, Hannah-san?'

'Due to the fact I am incapable of emotions, things like morals, loyalty, right and wrong are mostly foreign to me. I base my behaviour and actions on the most commonly accepted social boundaries. Therefore, I am incapable of deciding whether certain action is moral or not and if my team leader gives me an order, for example to kill a fellow team mate, I would accomplish it immediately.'

'That truly is a problem, but most ANBU would tell you that missions we do are top secret and that they're not always up to civilian moral standards. Being ninja means to be an assassin that follows their orders. Among other things that is.'

'I see. My psychiatrist said something of those lines as well. Except that he also mentioned the fact that my skills alone are enough to get me in the Black Ops.'

Tenzo sweat dropped. Basically their last three or so minutes of conversation were completely pointless. He was thankful to have his ANBU mask on.

'I shall see you tomorrow then, Hannah-san. Have a pleasant evening and try to get as much rest as you can.'

'Good evening to you as well, Tenzo-san.'

The ANBU shunshined away, while Hannah walked her way back to the Hyuuga compound. Hiashi would undoubtedly be waiting for her to report. He was anal about such things.

The Hyuuga compound was an interesting place. It was probably one of the most traditionally Japanese areas she had seen while being in this universe. Everything from the wood, through the architecture, to the interior. The Hyuuga compound was a peaceful place. The only things you could hear were mostly the small decorative fountains and streams, the rustling of leaves. The entire place brought a sense of peace to those who could appreciate it. Dark wood, mostly imported, as it deferred from the local fauna. Japanese mahogany, if Hannah interpreted the colour of the wood correctly. Black and white and anything else was a pale, gentle colour. The Uchiha compound was different. It had predominantly dark and red colours. She wondered what the other clan compounds looked like. Her psychiatrist told her that it would be more sufficient if she went straight to Hiashi than examining the architectural and cultural difference in the inner workings of Konohagakure. Contemplating the merits of both activities, the emotionless girl headed towards Hiashi's office. There was always time to do random research. After all that would save time for those who were busy doing other things while she herself did not feel the need to practice any sort of leisure activities. She was immune to psychological stress, drama, and strangely enough dementors, though the last one made little to no sense to her, even though Fiona had tried to explain the concept multiple times.

Three gentle knocks on Hiashi's door alerted the Hyuuga Clan Head of Hannah's presence.

'Come in, Hannah.'

The door opened and Hannah positioned herself before Hiashi, bowed down, and waited for his permission for her to take a seat. It was rude to take a seat in someone's office without being invited to do so. It was rude. Or so had her psychiatrist told her.

'You completed your first day of training for ANBU. I received a report from the Hokage that it went well.'

That was fast. Hannah would've appreciated the efficiency if she had the capacity to appreciate anything.

'That is so, Hiashi-sama. I wanted to report to you myself.'

'Very well. Take a seat.'

Hannah sat down on one of the chairs at his desk, opposite of him and then gave a short and to the point report of her doings.

'The way things are going I believe that you will be promoted to ANBU with little to no trouble at all. Despite your actual origins I must say that you bring great honour to the Hyuuga Clan as a whole, and as such, I would like to move your quarters in the Main Family sector of the Compound. While I know you will be busy training for ANBU and then busy with high ranking missions, I believe that my request would be a reasonable one.'

'And what would that request be, Hiashi-sama?'

'You will take over training my eldest, Hinata, as she has shown some progress since you took your time to do additional exercises with her.'

'It would be an honour, Hiashi-sama.'

Indeed, Hinata was showing some progress, especially when Hannah was concerned. She was a bit ruthless in her approach but Hinata learned quickly it wasn't any sort of special treatment. She was just a person who used a straight forward approach. Having overcome most of her fears concerning this new person Hannah, Hinata got used to her cold and emotionless personality and found herself more calm around her. That had worked wonders for her Juuken and Byakugan, as the Woodsworth youngest was a proverbial deus ex machina. Despite what everyone said and what Hinata believed herself, Hannah was able to force her into proper training regime. It was a slow and tedious work, as Hinata feared to hit too hard or that she might hurt someone and she also did not believe herself capable of doing whatever Hannah wanted her to do.

It was a good thing that Hiashi had no idea how Hannah forced Hinata out of her nervous habits. Hinata herself would never say anything about it either, even under the pain of death. Hannah, under said circumstances, would say it had involved a lot of gruesome sparring. Even 4 months later, the little emotionless girl was still trying to stop Hinata from blushing too obviously and from fiddling with her fingers. Nervous habits were bad for one's personal image, or so had her psychiatrist said.

Poor Hinata was just too shy. At least Hatorri had warned her not to overwork or overstress the Hyuuga heiress too much. However, there was no such thing as 'too much' in Hannah's dictionary. And Naruto had still not gotten the hint as to why Hinata was blushing so much around him. Then again no one wanted to tell him. Sasuke only smirked knowingly and Hatorri merely shook his head. According to Hannah, Hinata had levelled up from being just a nervous wreck, to being a nervous shy person with confidence problems. Hinata had felt slightly offended by that but she hadn't said anything. Then Hannah had asked her why she was being so silent, and Hinata timidly told her it was because she was right. Hannah would have had scolded her if she felt anything of the irritable kind. The idea was to overcome her insecurities, while Hannah herself studied Hinata's progress. She was an excellent specimen to study human interactions, as above all else, Hinata tried to be a proper lady. And Hannah herself had great difficulties understanding what made a girl a proper lady. She had great difficulties understanding what made a person…well, a person. But that was obvious to anyone and no one had the death wish to comment on said difficulties. According to general opinions, people with emotional problems were prone to being mass murdering psychopaths. Among the list of people with such problems were Uchiha Itachi, who murdered his entire clan, save his little brother, and strangely enough, Naruto, simply for being the host of the nine-tailed demon fox.

888

While the Hyuuga were having dinner, a certain blonde boy was busy cleaning up the Hokage Monument.

'Naruto, I won't let you go home until you clean all of it.'

'Bah… Like I care! It's not like I have anyone to go home to.'

Those words stroke a chord in Iruka's heart. Despite how unbelievably idiotic and annoying Naruto was all the time, he was still a kid that had grown up all alone, with no parents, just like himself. Iruka knew all too well what it was like to have no one.

'Naruto…'

'Now what?'

'Well, umm… if you clean this up I will buy you some ramen tonight.'

Naruto's face brightened up like sunshine immediately.

'Ok! I'll work hard! I will!' came his loud and enthusiastic response.

Iruka smiled fondly at his efforts, knowing that he would be paying a huge bill at Ichiraku's tonight.

888

Sasuke yawned and stretched as he woke up that morning. Today was the day he would become ninja. He was pretty confident about it too, being the rookie of the year and all. The only way he would not make it was if he didn't show up. Which was silly because there was no way he wouldn't show up. There was a small smile on his lips. Hatorri had taken his toll on Sasuke's depression. Sasuke would never admit it, but he felt content and happy with his life. Carpe Diem. He liked those words. Live for the moment. Enjoy your life now. It was what Hatorri had told him. It was what his cousin Fiona lived by. Live a life of no regrets. Live your life now. He could do that. And Hannah had told him that undue stress would stunt his shinobi growth. There was truth in her words, he guessed.

Hatorri was not home at the moment, which Sasuke had found strange. Usually he was always there, making breakfast, saying good morning and all that family stuff that normal people did in the mornings. Oh. There was a note on the table. No need to panic.

_The Hokage called me early this morning. Good luck on your graduation exam! _

_PS: It's the Bunshin. _

He just had to add the smiley face, didn't he? Sasuke smirked. Smiley face it is.

When he reached the Academy, almost all of the seats were already taken. His usual table was free save for the frantic forms of Hinata and Naruto, who were flushed for all the different reasons. Naruto probably hadn't studied at all, given the fact he spent almost all his afternoon and evening washing the Hokage Monument with Iruka-sensei watching over him with expert's vigilance. And Hinata was blushing profusely from Naruto's close proximity. Sasuke just took his usual seat. Some five minutes later every single Academy student was present, and soon after Iruka and Mizuki showed up.

'Now class, for the graduation exam you will do Bunshin no Jutsu.' Iruka proclaimed, followed by a wave of whines. 'When you are called, come to the next room.'

Sasuke almost cringed from Naruto's reaction.

'Damn! Why that one! That's my worst skill!'

'You c-can d-do it N-Naruto-kun.' Hinata said softly.

Even Hinata's kind words could not help Naruto's nerves. At the end of the exam, he did not manage to pass.

'N-Naruto-kun.'

'It's okay Hinata, Sasuke! I'll try next year!' Naruto tried to smile but his usual foxy grin looked more like a grimace than an actual smile. 'You go celebrate guys, I need to do something else.'

With that, Naruto swiftly left. Hinata tried to follow but Sasuke stopped her by gently grabbing her shoulder. She blushed.

'Don't follow him, Hinata-san. He needs some time alone.'

'H-hai, S-sasuke-kun.' Her voice sounded almost heartbroken.

'Aren't you going to celebrate? This is your day as well.' Sasuke tried to distract her from her Naruto induced sadness. She was pretty much his friend, along with Hatorri, Naruto, and strangely enough- Hannah, and he sort of felt obliged to help her out, make her feel somewhat better.

'Father is h-having a m-meeting with t-the Elder's C-council, Sasuke-kun.'

That basically meant her father, Hiashi, did not care whether she graduated or not.

'Hinata-'

'Sasuke-kuuun!' two simultaneous squeals reached his ears and the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight.

'Sasuke-kun! We're finally starting our career as ninja! Isn't it wonderful! You and I are the top two academy graduates-'

'Shut up, Billboard Brow!'

'Go to hell, Ino-pig!'

'GRRR!'

Both girls growled and glared at each other, igniting proverbial sparks. Sasuke used the opportunity to calmly walk away with Hinata in tow. Both fangirls never realized Sasuke had left until it was too late.

'A-ano, S-sasuke-kun.'

'Hn?'

'Where i-is Hatorri-sempai?'

'The Hokage called him for some reason. I don't know when he will be back.'

'O-ok.'

Hinata remained silent while Sasuke took out two glasses and some fruits to make fresh juice. She sat herself on one of the chairs in the dining room, which was adjacent to the kitchen via an open wall.

'A-ano.' There was a short pause in which Sasuke stopped squeezing the orange and looked at Hinata expectantly. 'I am really s-sad about N-Naruto-kun.'

Sasuke sighed. He was not the best person to offer comfort to poor, gentle Hinata, but he was better than Hannah. Thank god that emotionless girl was not here. She was bound to say something that would make Hinata cry. It's not that she did it on purpose… she was just… Hannah.

There were three distinct knocks on the door. Sasuke cringed. He just had to think of the devil.

'Come in, Hannah-san.' He said louder than usual. He heard the front door opening and closing. Hannah took off her shoes and put on a pair of slippers. She found the down-struck Hinata and Sasuke, who had his back turned to her, making fresh juice.

'Congratulations the two of you. Naruto did not make it, I hope?'

Sasuke mentally cringed, while Hinata lowered her head even further in turmoil. The Uchiha Heir took out another glass and without saying a word poured the freshly squeezed juice to all of them.

'Cheers.' Came Hannah's emotionless voice as she took a sip from her glass. She paused and looked at Hinata and Sasuke, who were even more unusually silent that usual. 'Is there something wrong? My psychiatrist says that you look crest-fallen.'

'The dobe failed his graduation exam again.' Sasuke spoke quietly, not really wanting to deal with Hannah at the moment.

'That is good news.'

A sob escaped Hinata. Sasuke banged his head on the table.

888

It was three in the morning. Hatorri was having the most wonderful dream about visiting Italy with Anko and eating pasta to their stomachs' delight. And then that Messenger Nin had to wake him up.

'Hatorri-san, The Hokage requests your immediate presence.'

That woke up the 19 year old immediately. While he was putting clothes on with the awe inspiring speeds of a man caught with another man's wife, Hatorri 's mind created all sorts of scenarios involving bad things happening to Rose, Fiona and MJ in Ame, Hannah wiping out the Hyuuga compound just because her Psychiatrist told her to do so…he shuddered in horror at that thought. He arrived at the Hokage Tower some 5 minutes after the messenger nin had woken him up.

'Ah, Hatorri-san. Good to see you again. I am sorry for the sudden notice, but there is an emergency situation and-'

'Did something bad happen with Fia, MJ or Rose? Is Orochimaru attacking earlier than usual? Did Hannah wipe out the Hyuuga!'

'Oh, nothing of the sort, Hatorri-san.' The Hokage replied, not missing a beat. A tick threatened to appear on Hatorri's forehead.

'You see, Maito Gai, one of our respectable Jounin, fell in the tub this morning and is incapable to attend to his student's training for the day.'

As the Hokage was saying this, the scene quickly shifted to the Konoha Hospital's ninja wing, where Maito Gai was restrained every way possible, to allow his broken leg to heal. Twin waterfalls of sensual manliness were falling down his cheeks. A single mucus-ish waterfall was falling down from his left nostril. The scene shifted back to the Hokage Tower.

'There are currently no available Jounin to accept this mission on such a short notice, as Team 10 start training around 4:00 am.' The Hokage did not have the heart to tell Hatorri that no sane Jounin would accept dealing with Gai-infected Gennin, especially when one Rock Lee was concerned. 'Therefore I have decided that this would be your first mission. Make us proud, Hatorri-san.'

Hiruzen smiled at him with a cheeky, grandfatherly smile and handed him his mission sheet. Somehow, Hatorri could not shake off the feeling that he had just been played and by the Hokage no less. He bowed to Sarutobi, said his respectful goodbyes and headed to training ground 17, where he was supposed to meet up with Team 9.

It was 3:30 am and he had half an hour until the Gennin would come. Hatorri looked about himself. The area was basically a plain grassy field with several tree stumps here and there, a few training dummies at one far end and a small tree gathering at the other far end. It was night and while nights in Konoha were generally pleasant and not too cold, there was a cold breeze that blew from time to time. Hatorri rubbed his arms absently and then straightened his Chuunin vest. He felt both very cool and slightly uncomfortable with it. It was cool to be officially ninja, even if he did not enjoy what exactly meant to be ninja. Maybe that was his inner samurai fanboy speaking, but he vowed to himself to give it a try. And Anko was a ninja as well and this wasn't a proper time to fret about silly things that didn't really matter.

With those thoughts Hatorri exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he should get a haircut. It was getting a bit long for his taste. And Anko tended to pull at his hair when they…ahem. It was perfect darkness all around him and the sky had a few clouds here and there but quite starry otherwise. One of the things he had noticed almost immediately was how the stars here were so much brighter than those at home, on top of being different of course. If Anko saw him now, stargazing, she would've said something about how girly that was, he would've smirked at her remark and then he would've pulled her for a sensual kiss under the stars. She was such a sucker for his romantic self, he realized that completely. And he liked Anko just the way she was. Minus her overly sadistic traits but he could overlook that.

'Good morning.'

'Ack!'Hatorri yelped in surprise and then turned around swiftly, Kunai in hand. And then he blinked. He slowly put the Kunai back into his pouch and stood straight, abandoning his defensive position for a more friendly-looking one.

'Good Morning.' He greeted as well, slight confusion evident in his voice. No it wasn't really confusion. It was more of a stupor. Bushy brows. Really bushy brows. Like those on some old men he had seen. But pitch black. Bowl-cut pitch-black hair. Round black eyes. The kid was seriously a copy of Bruce Lee in his early teens. That could be only one person.

'Excuse me, sempai, but this Training ground has been reserved for Team 10.'

'Uhm. I know that. I'm here for team 10 actually.'

'Oh? Um. Sorry! I forgot to introduce myself, sempai! My name is Rock Lee! Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast!'

Hatorri blinked. No, he was not at some kindergarten recital. But Rock Lee still had yelled dramatically and passionately as if he was in one.

'My name's Hatorri. I'm the Chuunin who has to keep watch on your training for the day. Your sensei, Maito Gai slipped in the tub and is in the Hospital nursing a broken leg at the moment.'

'Gai-sensei!'

Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say to the now traumatized Lee as the boy was crying with the manly tears of manliness. Hatorri suppressed a cringe and timidly patted one of the boy's shoulders. That had also been the wrong thing to do, as Lee threw himself at Hatorri and cried even harder, his arms holding Hatorri in a manly embrace of manliness. Hatorri stiffened in horror. It was one thing a little kid to do that. It was another thing his cousin Fia to do that. It was a third thing for a Lee cosplayer to re-enact that. But it was completely different story for the actual Rock Lee to embrace him and start crying even harder. He could feel the moisture from tears and mucus being absorbed by the green material of his Chuunin vest. He wondered if those stains would come off. He hoped they would. After all, this universe had superior washing detergents as they had to deal with grass, blood and mud spots all the time. He'd have to ask that granny at the market from which he buys that stuff.

'Hey now, you don't want Gai-sensei to find out you were despairing over him, now do you?'

'Huh?'

'I mean, he's fine. According to the mission file he had recently sustained an injury on the same leg and he did not give himself time for it to strengthen properly after healing. He should be fine within the day. So, how about you start with some warm ups while we wait for your team mates?'

'Yosh! Sempai! You speak words of wisdom! I shall do as you say!'

And with that the teen ran towards the nearest training dummies. Too bad Hatorri had no way of knowing that Neji and Ten-Ten would arrive around 8:00 am.

888

Naruto was sitting dejectedly on a bench in the park. There weren't many people this time of day as most children were at school, their parents at work and his newly graduated classmates were probably celebrating with their families. While he tried to keep the bad thoughts away, Naruto could not help but feel like a complete failure. He had tried his best and he had failed. He would have to undergo another year in the ninja Academy. But this time with people who were younger than him. He should've trained harder with the Bunshin! Iruka-sensei had been right! Tear threatened to fall from his eyes and Naruto shook his head. NO! He was not going to think about this. Sooner or later he would graduate and then he would become Hokage and everyone would acknowledge him!

'Naruto?'

'Huh? Oh, Mizuki-sensei. I didn't see you there.'

888

It was late afternoon, but he had done it! He had completed his first mission, B-rank at that! How could have he known that dealing with one Rock Lee could be a burden so big that it would be a B-rank mission in and on itself. But apparently it was. When Ten-Ten and Hyuuga Neji had appeared around 8:00 am they had found the black haired Chuunin run ragged by their team mate Lee. It had taken him 10 minutes to gather his breath. Lee had used that time to explain the situation to his team mates.

'Hello!' Hatorri greeted them in a friendly manner.

'Hn.' Neji's whole being was filled with disdain towards this newcomer.

He didn't look like Simon, though, which was rather surprising. Dark brown hair, long and silky. Pale but perfectly clear skin and white pupilless eyes that were typical for the Hyuuga. He was tall for his 14 years of age, lean and muscular. True, they had relatively similar features. But Simon was a geek most of the time. Both were stuck up (Neji superiorly so) but he could never confuse the two of them. Simon's short hair was the biggest difference.

Ten-Ten was a cute Chinese girl with warm brown eyes, heart shaped face and brown hair tied in twin buns. She bore an excessively similar look to that of a young Chun Li. Only that she had normally proportioned breasts and legs, in comparison to the overly buxom Chun Li. But that was just his inner Street Fighter fanboy speaking.

'Uhm. Sorry about Neji, sempai! My name is Ten-Ten and this here is Hyuuga Neji. We would be delighted if you help us with our training for the day.' The girl then bowed respectfully, making him older than he actually was.

Maybe things would be slightly more easier now that he could avoid training only with Lee. That teen was a freak of nature. Too bad Lady Fate had other plans.

As stated earlier. It was late afternoon and Hatorri had finally managed to drag himself to the Uchiha Compound. The front door opened and closed louder than usual.

'Hatorri-sempai?' that was Hannah

'Ugh!'

Hinata and Sasuke looked at each other and then bolted to see what was wrong with the young man. They found him lying on the floor by the stairs.

'Hatorri-sempai?' Hinata spoke softly, gently nudging him.

'Ugh….'

Hannah took her queue to stand next to Sasuke and Hinata and observe Hatorri's condition. She then pulled out the paper sheet that was sticking out from one of his Chuunin vest pockets.

'You trained with team nine?' Sasuke asked, looking over Hannah's shoulders.

'Ugh.'

'T-that's Neji-nee-san's team.' Hinata added her two cents.

'Hyuuga Neji, Ten-Ten and Rock Lee. Team Leader is Jounin Maito Gai. Extremely taijutsu intensive.'

'Freaks.' Hatorri rasped out. He was referring to Gai and Lee.

Hinata tried to poke her fingers but when she saw Hannah looking at her, she gulped and stopped immediately.

'No…more…green…' Hatorri groaned, making a cringe at the memory of his spar with Lee.

'Sasuke, help Hatorri get to his room. Hinata, do you know how to use medical jutsu of the Hyuuga?'

'N-no, Hannah-sempai.'

'Now is the perfect time to learn then. My psychiatrist always says that the best way to learn is with practice.'

Hinata noticed that Hannah had her Byakugan activated. She hadn't even used hand seals to do it! Sasuke and Hatorri cringed at the thought of what Hannah was planning to do. It would be a long day. A very long day.

888

'Iruka-sensei is a very serious person. His parents were killed when he was and he had to do everything himself.'

'But why does he only pick on me?'

Naruto's question was so earnest. Mizuki looked at him and smiled sadly.

'He probably sees himself in you.'

Naruto looked down, deep in thought, but still listening intently to Mizuki.

'He wants you to become strong in the real way. Try to understand Iruka's feelings. You also have no parents.'

There was a silent pause.

'I still wish I had graduated.'

Mizuki smirked.

'Well then.'

'Huh?'

'Let me tell you a special secret.'

888

'Ooooomph!'

'Stop moving and stop complaining.'

'Grrrmph!'

Sasuke smacked Hatorri on the arm. He moaned in his pillow again but did not move. Hannah was holding some sort of chart of the human body, Byakugan active, while Hinata was pressing her glowing fingers on certain spots on Hatorri's back. The hard part was that Hinata didn't have her Byakugan active. It builds up character, Hannah had told her. And she mustn't rely as much on it. She must know those tenketsu points by heart even without the Byakugan. That way she could save chakra. Teaching Hinata was a noble goal in Hatorri's opinion but using him as a chakra pin-cushion was ridiculously cruel in his opinion. Hinata pressed another tenketsu point. Hatorri relaxed a bit, groaning slightly in the process. There was still hope for Hinata. Still, Sasuke thought, he wouldn't let Hinata 'heal' him any time in the near future. Not unless she was officially a medic nin.

Hinata pressed another point, a sheen of sweat visible on her face and delicate brows furrowed in concentration. Hatorri squealed in pain and lost consciousness.

'Don't worry, keep working on him, Hinata.'

'Uh…h-hai.'

'I hope you know what you're doing Hannah.' Sasuke said seriously. 'I'm really not fond of the idea of Anko-sempai finding us here and Hatorri like _this._'

Hinata whimpered.

'Keep working, Hinata.'

'H-hai.' the poor Hyuuga Heiress was on the verge of tears again. At least her mind wasn't too preoccupied with Naruto, which was a somewhat good thing. She worried too much about him as it was.

888

There was an urgent knock on the door.

'Iruka! Open up!'

'What is it Mizuki?'

'We must go to Hokage-sama quickly! Naruto has taken the Scroll of Forbidden seals as a joke!'

'WHAT!'

888

Hatorri woke up around 4 am as fresh as a daisy. He had no idea what happened except that Hinata was needling him with chakra scalpels for Hannah's amusement. If she could feel amusement that is. But right now he felt as if he could jump and fly over the moon that was still high in the horizon. Hatorri stood up and stretched thoroughly. It was dark in the room but he could still see rather well. His gaze found Hinata and Hannah sleeping in his room in sleeping bags, along with Sasuke. Hatorri shook his head. He was pretty sure the Uchiha heir had forced Hannah and Hinata to stay for the night in order to keep an eye on him. Hatorri smirked. Sasuke was getting more and more normal by the hour. He was still somewhat cold, but compared to what he found when he first arrived in Konoha, Sasuke was practically your typical grumpy teenager trying to look cool. At least he provided the girls with sleeping bags. He would talk to him as soon as he woke up.

Hatorri's stomach grumbled and he took that as a sign to fill his belly with food. He didn't have a chance to get groceries and Sasuke had probably been eyeing Hannah and Hinata's work throughout the whole process like a hawk. He knew how obsessive that boy could get, even over little things.

Hatorri walked slowly down the stairs, making as little noise as possible, in order to not wake the three sleeping teens in his room. He glanced at the clock in the living room. 4:17 am. It was a bit early that usual but he guessed that he slept for at least 10 hours so he wasn't too surprised by the time. It was starting to get lighter outside, though.

The young man opened the fridge, while nonchalantly scratching his right buttock. He was wearing only his pyjama pants and his chest was currently bare, showing off a nice even tan and ripe, lean muscles. His back still bore a few red spots from Hinata's ministrations. At least if there was any bruising, it would go away soon enough. He knew from experience. Anko's nail marks lasted up to a week. He still remembered Sasuke knowing smirk when he had gotten home one morning after a date with Anko. It was an embarrassing experience, but he could live with it none the less.

There was some left-overs from yesterday's meal and Hatorri took the whole plate. He was planning on stuffing himself and then he would take a nice, long hot shower and then he would get some fresh groceries before the grannies and housewives invaded the bazaar. It was a neat plan for the few extra hours of being awake if he could say so himself.

888

'-and he needs at least three weeks of recuperation. The poison has been cleared but he needs time to gather his strength.'

'I see. And since Mizuki is the one who caused all this, we have no one to give the Team Orientation.' The Hokage sighed. 'I think I might have just the person. But it's still this early in the morning…'

The Hokage dismissed the ANBU and then took out his spying glass sphere.

'Hmm… He seems to be awake.'

The Hokage moved his hands a bit and then the sphere's image focused upon Hatorri's room. Hiruzen saw the sleeping forms of the three teens. Then the image focused back on the young man. A smile stretched on Sarutobi's face.

888

'Urgent message from the hokage!'

'Ack!' Hatorri threw his huge plate with lasagne in the air and it fell on the floow, while he brandished a butter knife in defence. When he saw the messenger nin behind him, he sighed.

'The Hokage does that all the time, doesn't he?' he spoke. The messenger nin merely handed him a piece of paper without saying a word. His silence spoke volumes to Hatorri. The old coot probably got his jollies out of scaring his ninja like that.

Hatorri grumbled and went into his room to get some proper clothes. Some 10 minutes later he was standing at attention in front of the Hokage, who was looking surprisingly cheerful and grandfatherly. At least he hadn't woken him up like yesterday, Hatorri begrudgingly thought.

'I have another mission for you, Hatorri-san.'

888

Sasuke woke up to the smell of something cooking. He smiled. Hatorri was making something yummie. He went for the bathroom first and then, just as he was, only with his fresh boxers on and raven locks still wet, he went downstairs.

'Yikes!'

There was a girly squeal, followed by a thump on the floor. Sasuke blinked. Hannah was making breakfast in the kitchen while Hinata, beat red, was lying on the floor, clearly unconscious.

'Where's Hatorri?'

'Oh, he got up early in the morning, Sasuke. The Hokage had requested for his immediate presence.'

'I see.'

Sasuke helped Hinata back onto her chair and then brushed away a few stray hairs from her face, a very slight expression of concern barely visible on his face. Hinata came to soon enough and saw him staring at her like that.

'A-ano, Arigatou, Sasuke-kun.' She blushed heavily again and Sasuke pulled away, taking his usual seat at the table.

Hannah served breakfast for the three of them and then, after finishing eating, they headed towards the Academy for their orientation day. Sasuke was wondering why Hannah was following them until she said her goodbyes when they passed a camera shop. Sasuke had a bad feeling about this.

Sasuke and Hinata arrived at the academy only to be met by a nice surprise. Naruto was there! And with a forehead protector! Hinata's heart fluttered with joy as a serene, pure, happy smile spread on her face.

'Naruto-kun!' she breathed out.

Sasuke was also relived to see him there among him. After all, Hatorri had told him he was going to be in the same group with him and the pink-haired fangirl called Haruno Sakura.

'Naruto, what the hell are you doing here? Only those who pass are supposed to be here!'

'He's wearing his forehead protector, or are you blind?' Sasuke spoke cooly to the fellow graduate, who was bothering Naruto.

'Yeah, Dattebayo!' Naruto exclaimed, sending a cheeky grin Sasuke's way. Sasuke merely nodded.

'I saved us our usual seats, 'tebbayo!'

'Glad too see you here, Naruto.' The raven haired Uchiha heir gave Naruto the smallest smile.

'M-me too, N-Naruto-kun.' Hinata blushed profusely as she spoke.

'Hinata, are you Ok?'

But Hinata did not have the chance to answer. In exactly that moment two figures busted into the classroom. Their names were Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura. In their minds, the fact that Naruto hadn't made it meant that there was a single free spot right next to Sasuke. And that meant they could fight for it. To the winner the spoils.

'Ha! I got here first!' both girls yelled triumphantly.

Sasuke almost cringed. He was still unable to get rid of those too. On a side note, the Kunoichi from that year had visibly higher scores than the last 3 batches of Kunoichi that had gone through the academy course.

'Shut it, Ino-pig/Billboard Brow! I got here First!'

'No I did'

'My psychiatrist says you are all being annoying.'

'Eeek!' both girls squealed in terror and swiftly pulled away from Hannah who was standing nonchalantly behind them, holding a brand new camera.

'You!' Sakura yelled.

'You were supposed to be gone! Forever!' Ino joined her yelling rival slash friend.

'I am here now, aren't I?'

Hannah walked deliberately slowly and then took the usual spot that she had on Sasuke's row.

'What are you going to do with that camera?' Sasuke immediately asked. His still developing ninja senses were screaming bloody murder.

'Nothing interesting. I was thinking of memorizing these moments of graduation for you to have in your albums. My psychiatrist says that ninja should have some sort of hobbies when not on missions. I find photography sufficiently appealing to the general public.'

Naruto blinked at Hannah. Hinata was trying to resist the incredible urge to poke her fingers together. Sasuke hhned.

'That's not Iruka-sensei.' Someone suddenly exclaimed.

888

'As you are probably aware of what happened last night, I will keep this as short as possible. Iruka was more wounded than we initially thought. And since Mizuki was the one to instigate this entire ordeal, we do not have a Chuunin teacher for the Team Orientation.'

'You want me to go there and-'

'Handle the Team Orientation, yes.'

'But Iruka was supposed to be the one to do that. Hannah said so herself.'

'Changes in the timeline are already appearing, apparently.

'I will gladly accept this mission, Hokage-sama.'

'Good man, Hatorri-san.'

888

'Hannah? What are you doing here?' Hatorri asked the pseudo-Hyuuga.

'Practicing photography, Hatorri-sempai.' She tried to smile sweetly but her soulless eyes lacked the emotion behind the act.

'Very well, you may stay.' Hatorri sighed and took a look at all 27 graduates. 'Class, congratulations on passing the graduation exam! Soon you will be assigned your duties to the village. But for that to happen, you need to be assigned to your three-man teams.'

'Hey, who are you?'

'A bit rude, but since someone actually decided to ask… My name is Hatorri and I am your Team Orientation Chuunin for the day. So listen up, kiddies, because this is important.'

There were several whines and groans and a few indignant yelps from the 'kiddie' comment.

'Each team is assigned to a Jounin sensei. You will follow that sensei's instructions as you complete your assignments. And now, as for the teams themselves….'

Hatorri finally got to team 7 and Sasuke perked up.

'Team seven consist of: Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.'

Naruto and Sasuke fist bumped in triumph. Hinata, however felt crestfallen as she was not in the same team as Naruto. Sasuke saw that and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

'Team 8 consists of: Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba."

'Team 9 stands from last year.' An involuntary shiver went down his spine as he thought of yesterday.

'Team 10 consists of: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji.'

Bickering, complains, whines, cheers and all that jazz was the cacophony that met Hatorri's ears.

'Hey! Shut it! Your Jounin sensei should be here soon, so try to keep it down, will ya kiddo's?' Hatorri shook his head with slight annoyance. Sasuke was rubbing off on him. A bit. 'I'll be back in 30 minutes.'

And indeed, Hatorri was back within 30 minutes. One hour later and only the members of team 7 plus Hannah and Hatorri, were the only ones left in the class room. Hatorri had sat on the comfortable chair with his feet plopped on the teacher's desk, hands comfortably behind his head. Hannah was lying on one of the free tables and Sasuke and Naruto had resorted to Rock Paper Scissors. Haruno Sakura felt completely out of place with this arrangement.

There was a knock on the door.

'Come in!'

Team 7 perked up. Could it be? Their late sensei finally showing up?

'You open the door first.'

'Me? Why should I? Be a man and do the right thing.'

'I'm your brother and I order you to open the door.'

'And ruin my hair? Dream on, sucker.'

'Helen, Simon, the door isn't booby trapped.'

'Ugh, see? I told you!'

'But you still tried to make me open the door first!'

'Stop bickering and enter.'

'Yes, Hannah.' The elder Woodsworth siblings quietly took seats at Hannah's table.'

The last several months had brought some changes to them. Helen's beautiful long hair had been pulled up in a stylish Japanese bun with a few ornaments in it. She also wore typical Japanese make up and a beautiful pale lavender kimono. She seemed a lot fitter than she had been 6 or so months prior. Simon had been growing out his hair and now it was spiky, sticking out at odd places, looking like an Inuzuka if one squinted hard enough. He was also wearing a pale Japanese Kimono, which Hatorri realized was standard wear for the Hyuuga clan when not on missions. Both Kimonos had the Hyuuga crest sown on their backs.

'What are you guys doing here?' Hatorri asked, slightly confused of their presence.'

'I just wanted to see how you guys were doing.' Helen flashed him a brilliant, seductive smile, her pale lavender eyes sparkling mischievously.

Simon rolled his eyes at the flirty display and sighed.

'She dragged me along.'

'Helen, people would think you are ovulating.'

Helen blushed angrily at Hannah's comment but did not say anything. It was more than obvious that they were here to see Hatake Kakashi in person. As strange as it sounded, trying to get a glimpse of that man was like trying to grab Anko's boobs (if you weren't Hatorri that is). A shock of silver hair here and there, a flash of a certain little orange book. That was about it. For the entire time they had been in Konoha. It was beyond ridiculous. It was as if Kakashi knew he was being stalked. Which was probably the case, anyway. Helen's zealous crusade in search of the ideal hot ninja was somewhat of a clan legend nowadays. It all had started when Helen had invited one Kotetsu Hagane on a date in an expensive restaurant in downtown Konoha.

When Hiashi had gotten word of that he had been furious. He had almost castrated poor Kotetsu when he had arrived at the Hyuuga Compound's front gates. Hyuuga Hiashi's zealous crusade to keep one Helen (of Troy as Hannah usually added) virgin was even more legendary. Nowadays Helen spend her free time making herself even more beautiful, spying on sexy men and evaluating their traits based on how sexy they were and in what way exactly. Simon was tasked with chaperoning her since, as her brother, he was immune to her wicked ways.

There were very few targets which hadn't been evaluated in Helen's sexy list. And those were Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi and the Toad Sannin Jiraiya (to everyone's great surprise). And right now, there was an air of triumph around her, as she would tick one less target off her infamous list. Once she was done, she would make a chart with Konoha's sexiest ninja. And then she would distribute that chart to all the interested females. Which were basically almost the entire female population of Konoha. At least she was still being discreet about it. If she hadn't been, Hiashi would've been bald months ago.

Finally, some three hours later, slow footsteps could be heard right outside…


	52. Devious Sasuke is Devious

**Chapter 52**

**When the saints go marching in part 2**

**-15 minutes earlier- **

'Hannah, what are you doing?'

'He forgot the prank.'

Simon's face hit the desk. Apparently he found both his palms lacking the ability to contain the enormous amount of awkward social fail. Of all the things his little sister to think of…

'I am not getting involved in this.' Haruno Sakura stated, as mature as a 13 year old could possibly sound.

'Hehe, you're the best, Hannah-chan!' Naruto grinned.

'A Jounin will not fall for such an easy trick.'

'We shall see, Sasuke.'

Hannah took her position in front of the door, camera ready. While she had no Sasuke and Naruto slash what so ever, getting a compromising photo of Hatake Kakashi was a noble enough goal, according to her psychiatrist, her sister and Hatorri.

Slow footsteps could be heard and then…

'Gyahaha! You fell for it.' Naruto cackled.

_Snickt!_

'I'm sorry sensei, I tried to stop her but Hannah-'

At the door of the classroom, in all his chalked up glory, stood the silver haired wet dream of many Earth Fangirls. Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Cat ninja.If one could share their first impressions of his appearance, they would first describe the shock of silvery hair, the tilted Hitai-ate, covering one eye and the carefully blank facial expression, visible only through the single patch of non-covered skin on his face. He was not overly tall, compared to Hatorri that is, but his lean and well-toned flesh exuded calmness and relaxation in defying the common sense way. All in all, he looked like a couch-potatoing sports person after a look week of training. He didn't even react when the chalk eraser hit his head. It posed no harm therefore there was no need for him to dodge or evade the chalk eraser. The only mark of the encounter was the slow blinking of his only visible eye. His eye-color was dark, possibly black or very dark brown, typical for the Asian culture. His face, however, looked European, like nearly half of the people Hannah had encountered during her stay in this Universe. His overall looks were a natural amalgamation of both European and Asian, but his natural silver haired state was what really intrigued her. Silver hair was a lot more common than she would've thought, at least in the area where the Fire country was situated. On her journey through snow she had seen mostly dark haired people, of the black or dark brown variety. In fact, she had taken into account the observation that the normal populace looked genuinely normal, like the humans from their universe. Then there was Sakura and a few other people she had seen with weird hair-colors that were not ninja. Hannah was certain that if she asked Sakura, she would tell her that her hair color came from a grandmother or grandfather or somebody even further down her genealogical tree. Genetics were a fun pass time for those of great intellectual prowess.

But to get back to Kakashi. His skin complexion, while very light, was not Asian, but rather typically European. If it weren't for his dark eye color, he would've looked at home in most Nordic countries. Then again he was almost in the short category, according to Hannah. Hatorri was a prime example of European and Asian amalgamation. He was tall, as per the Johnson line, which was obviously inherited from their Nordic roots. His complexion was Asian and his eyes were black as well. She wondered what Sasuke would say if she asked him about the Uchiha. She was almost certain that he would tell her Hatorri was a prime example of what Uchiha would look like. She had seen pictures. His father was a very tall and well-toned man with a strong jaw that neither of his sons had inherited. If Hannah was capable of feelings, she would've had a field day with all this wondrous genetic observation.

'Hmm… How do I say this-',Kakashi spoke. His voice was just as relaxed, calm and just as lazy sounding as he looked.

'You can start by asking me out on a date.'

In the matter of a millisecond Helen shifted from sitting at Hannah's table to standing right in front of Kakashi, eyes narrowed in a pleased and seductive manner. Her sudden actions made Kakashi shift his pose backwards, slightly away from Helen's aggressive sexy assault.

Simon's head hit the table (again), Hatorri fell off his chair, trying to stifle his laughter and Hannah simply took several more photos. It was rather common knowledge that one Hatake Kakashi was seriously private about his personal life. Therefore the general populace of the Akatsuki Fan Club had voted on the status of his dating life and had him declared antisocial with the survivor's guilt syndrome. Whether it was true or not that Helen was trying to see if that was the case, was another story all together.

There was a long moment of silence. Either Kakashi was not used by the direct approach, or he was simply stalling the inevitable response to her approach. Hannah believed the case was neither. He was a prodigy and as such he was probably assessing the situation. They were not supposed to be there. Heck, he probably wondered why they were there as they were not a ninja team. He probably also had suspicions Helen knew he would be there and had herself preparing to meet him in such a way. Hannah concluded they had overstayed their welcome. She had no idea whether the Hokage had brought him in on their secret or not. There was a millisecond in which Kakashi looked directly at her. That was it, he was suspicious now.

'Helen, sit down.'

'But, Hannah-'

'We'll be leaving now.'

'But-!'

'See you later Hannah, Helen, Simon.' Hatorri smiled happily, while waving them off.

'You're coming with us as well, sempai.'

Hatorri shrugged, knowing it was better to comply than cause another scene. Whatever Hannah wanted was whatever she got. You didn't mess with the Glass Cannon, and besides, Team 7 had to get some much needed alone time together. He dully noted how Simon was being completely silent. He would ask about that later. Apparently something had happened. Something's always going on when Hannah is involved, he thought absently.

'Well, I guess I must be off as well, people. And Sasuke. Got to hand in my report to the Hokage at some point.' Hatorri waved his goodbyes to the three to be Gennin and left after Hannah and her older siblings with a slight smile on his face. He couldn't wait to hear about it all from Sasuke. He wanted to make a celebratory dinner for tonight, and probably gather all the little munchkin rookies for the feast. Or at least Hinata- she seemed so heartbroken to hear she wasn't going to be in the same team with Sasuke and Naruto, that he felt a bit bad about the whole ordeal. But Hannah had insisted to keep the proper configurations of the teams. Who knows what would happen if they tried to deviate too much from the timeline.

As he walked his way up the Hokage tower, Hatorri realized one very important thing. During the past six months he had started to think of Konoha as one of his precious places. It was a home now. There was a pang of guilt that he knew too well. His own sense of honor and loyalty, something he had inherited from his mother, were telling him that staying here, no matter how natural a decision it would be, was not the right course of action. He had no idea how Anko would take it if he were to up and disappear the same way he had appeared. He didn't even want to think about Sasuke. The boy had been a right mess. It was only because their mothers looked exactly alike that the little Uchiha had allowed him to stay. Because he wanted to know about his mom Sarah. There was this tiny, miniscule whisper in his subconscious that told Hatorri that things ran a lot deeper than that.

One Hatorri Johnson was probably what an expecting mother would imagine some 18-20 years after giving birth to their son. A gentleman, a good friend, part of a few sports clubs, good grades, respectful and most of all an honorable and benign person. Sasuke could not be more different. He was arrogant, self-absorbed in his own tragedy and hatred. Or at least he exuded such an air about himself. He was going down the path from which he wouldn't have ever emerged a whole human being again. Hatorri did not need to know what happened in the manga. It was in the boy's eyes. He wondered why the Hokage hadn't done anything about it. He never really asked Hannah about it either, even though she probably knew the exact state of things.

When he had first arrived in this Universe, Hatorri was met by the sight of two eyes, devoid of life. Two dark eyes that were exactly like his, but only several years younger. It was like staring at a strangely opaque version of himself. One that did not see light, but reveled in darkness and misery. Sasuke's childhood had been murdered, and with that any chance to lead a happy life from then on. And still, Hatorri had seen something in the boy that made him think there was a chance to redeem him. The last six months had been a constant battle with the pride of that last Uchiha. But a smile there, an occasional smirk here or a shake of the head from time to time. Very slowly, Sasuke had started to brighten up. And that was worth all the patience and hard work that Hatorri had put into Sasuke.

As he made his way towards the Uchiha compound, Hatorri contemplated on what he had seen in Sasuke. It was something he was very familiar with, because he had grown up with it. His mother. Hatorri wasn't sure when he had realized why Sasuke's behavior was so familiar. He wasn't even sure how he had spotted those miniscule buds of emotions in those early days. But they had certainly been there.

Now it was a lot easier to spot them. He was a caring person, a gentle soul like his mother, and a good friend, despite still being rather stuck up and arrogant almost all the time. When Naruto and Hinata would come over, he'd perk up. He wondered if Sasuke hadn't had people his age for friends before. It did not take a genius to realize that there was something seriously wrong with the way Uchiha raised their children. Unhealthy competitive environment. Instead of nurturing the natural inclinations of the child, they'd go out of their way just to force said child up to par with some imaginary standards all Uchiha must uphold. Even if Sasuke was the only Uchiha left, the damage had already been done. Some days Sasuke would wake up early in the morning and go training. Other days he'd practically drag Hatorri on the small training field near the lake in order to spar with him.

There were no two opinions that Sasuke was a ruthless and cunning son of a gun when it came to fighting. In fact, Hatorri was pretty sure he'd have to find a new way to mollify Anko once she'd see the thin scar line on his left butt cheek caused by a not so stray kunai that had been flung precariously his way. By Sasuke of course.

His cousin Fiona would sometimes, in a spout of maturity and wisdom, say that children often identified themselves either by their peers, their parents or other figures of authority or by an idol or someone they admire. Hatorri couldn't agree more. He could see the living proof of those words in Sasuke. After all, the boy had grown up a lot for the past six months. He had taken up a slightly mischievous streak, probably from Naruto and Anko. Apart from the butt cheek incident, there had also been those fiendish wire traps that Sasuke had the habit of putting up after his training sessions. One morning Hatorri had found a dark pair of pants hanging by one of the Uchiha training spots. They were too big for Sasuke and too small to be his own, so he wondered whose pants they were. And there was also that occasion with the Kunai lying all over the place. At first he thought Sasuke had been too lazy to pick them up and put them away. But it was only when he had found by accident a very thin matted wire just a centimeter away from being triggered by his foot that he had realized Sasuke was putting up traps. And this one had been an extremely elaborate one.

Civilian children listened to music, played games, hung out with each other in their free time. Haruno Sakura fawned over Sasuke or read books. Ino Yamanaka took care of her family's flower shop, went on shopping sprees and also fawned over Sasuke. Naruto's entire lifestyle was based around becoming Hokage, eating Ramen and pranking, so not much could be said there. Hinata was an odd one, in Hatorri's opinion. She was mortifyingly shy around Naruto and always let people tell her what to do out of politeness. But even she did normal things in her free time, if one could call stalking Naruto normal.

Sasuke was his own brand of crazy when it came to spending free time. At first, Hatorri had thought the boy didn't have any free time. He was either brooding or training. And so they had started going on walks around the village, spending the nowadays mandatory spa time every Thursday night, and last but not least, goofing around like two boys would when no one would be watching. Naruto had also become a bit of a staple figure in Sasuke's daily life. They went every so often to Ichiraku's Ramen stand to grab a bowl or three. As stated earlier, the orange one was the reason for Sasuke's newly developed mischievous streak. It wasn't anything too obvious, but with Fiona Johnson for his cousin, it wasn't hard to spot these seemingly random traps all over the Uchiha compound.

Another thing Sasuke had picked up was from Hatorri himself. He was starting to develop a more gentlemanly approach towards the female populace. Sadly enough, Hinata was usually the only person he was actively nice to in the Academy, apart from Naruto. He always helped her with little things every now and then and they had this sort of gentle, shy friendship that really warmed his heart.

In the end, Hannah had achieved her goal from the time she had spent in the ninja Academy. Hinata managed to not feint in the presence of Naruto, Sasuke now had actual friends, Naruto's grades improved, if only ever so slightly, but he was still the dead last. It was weird, seeing as his taijutsu had been marginally improved, and so was his chakra control. But that was Naruto. He spent more time thinking about new pranks, pranking people, thinking about ramen, thinking about becoming Hokage… it was a long list and studying was not something he liked to do. But spending time with Sasuke was something that he did often. They even pulled a few pranks together, though it had been some minor things, and they never really managed to pull off that one 'Ultra-Awesome Prank' as Naruto had called it, because Anko had managed to get a hold on them while they were preparing it. Naruto had also become really good at dodging things. And by really good, he meant extremely good. He had just one thing to say to that. Anko.

A small, sad smile appeared on Hatorri's face. He was all alone in the Uchiha compound now, with pretty much nothing to do. Sasuke and himself were very neat and they all did their chores around the house, so tidying up was out. He could go to a training field and work on Jutsu and stuff, but he didn't feel up to it, really. Despite being proud and happy for Sasuke and Naruto graduating, he also felt a pang of emptiness inside of him. He really missed Anko. Now would've been a perfect alone time for the two of them, all the while preparing a nice big dinner for the graduates. Hatorri sighed. He knew he didn't want to be ninja and he knew he absolutely hated this overly military setting that was going on. And Konoha was a lot less military than other hidden villages, according to the general populace. Yes, it did look like a normal village and yes, civilians were mostly happy. But if one took a deeper look, they would notice something always lingering in the shadows and watching. Always watching. They would notice little child soldiers learning how to kill people, starting at the tender age of 6. And most civilians were oblivious. Sure, it's cool and awesome to be a ninja and wield mystical powers and spew God knows what at your enemies and look bad ass and everything. But those were still children. Children needn't worry about politics, wars or anything of the sort. Look at where had that gotten his cousin, Fia. Psychiatrists since the day she could talk in more than 5 words per sentence.

It was peace time, damn it! Why would they need so much security? The conspiratory feel of it all was making him nervous. It was as if the last ninja war had never ended in the first place. Sure, it was their way of life, but every person had the right to choose what they wanted for themselves. A 6 year old child, barely able to read and write should not be let into the ninja academy. He remembered not once or twice trying to help Naruto with his reading and writing. A child is not capable of comprehending the logic behind what would lie in its future. Despite how much this world had in common with his own world, this was still a feudal era in which the lords of the land had the final word. Don't look at the TV's and the computers. Don't look at the electricity. People still used ox-driven carriages to make their way around the world. It was unnerving how much he knew compared to the common resident of this world. Knowledge was power and it was probably the most tightly guarded thing in any single village. Simon had told him stories of the trains that existed in Snow Country and nowhere else in the Narutoverse. He had told him of the ninja in that country and the hardships they had gone through in order to leave that wretched place. They had gone a long way to get from Snow to Konoha without getting caught.

The world of Naruto was a world where children killed other children, where the little person had to grovel to the lord of the land. There was no democracy, no emancipation. Autocracy commanded complete submission. Even the Hokage was but a pawn in the hands of the Daimiyo. One wrong word could get your head on a pike. There was no freedom of speech. If the Daimiyo was an asshole and the people were starving then they would have to suck it up. Luckily for Konoha, the Lord of Fire Country was a benign person with good governing skills. The people were happy and money flowed freely. Ninja had work and there was nothing to worry about. Or at least someone had done his or hers homework and had made sure to cover up anything worrisome. Someone like the Council of Konoha and Danzo. Someone like the Hokage, who on some days looked twice his age from lack of sleep.

Power plays, conspiracies, cover ups, politics and corruption all rolled into one. And Sasuke was in the middle of all of that. You had to be an idiot not to see it. Sasuke was the last loyal to Konoha Uchiha. At least officially. It was his duty to populate the Uchiha Compound as soon as he hits 15-16 years of age or becomes a Jounin before that age. Heck, one day Hatorri had even found a bunch of tossed away letters containing marriage proposals of political significance. As much as he had doubted it in the beginning, it had turned out that the village sanctified the ground Sasuke walked on for real. It was both hilarious and disgusting in the same time. No wonder the Uchiha Heir had grown so progressively distant to everyone since the massacre.

Hell, he even understood why the kid was so attached to him. For Sasuke, even if he was from across a dimension, he was still family. Someone who saw Sasuke just as Sasuke. And somehow, in the last 6 or so months, something with the semblance of normalcy had appeared in the Uchiha Compound. Between the witty remarks, occasional mock battles between the 'warlords' of Broom and Mop, the nights out, the visits from Hinata and Naruto, and even Anko, Sasuke had found happiness. There was this calmness to the boy that he had lacked before. The security of not being alone, of having someone there to wait for you at the end of the day.

Hatorri smiled and shook his head. It was not productive to think of this now. It made what would come all the more harder. If there was a way to transport all of them to the world of Naruto, then there was a way back as well. And once such a way was found, they all had to go home. And leave the life they lead here. He had no idea how to break it to Anko. But he guessed there was time still.

**888**

_**-Flashback**__-_

The trek back to Suna had been a lot faster. At least to Tifa's senses. The Fourth Kazekage had kept his gaze on her almost all the time, sometimes looking thoughtful and sometimes simply glaring at her. For the most part Tifa paid him no heed, save for the occasional glances of inquiry she sent his way. They were back to that same oasis they had occupied on their way to Otogakure. The sky was clear and the weather was nice, even if the setting sun was still scorching the desert. Tifa let go of her bag next to a tree and stretched, releasing some of the tension in her muscles and joints. The Kazekage followed suit. It would be dark soon, so he started on getting the campfire done.

'The medic nin said not to wet the bandages.' He nearly drawled at her as she was removing her clothing.

'Well, he isn't God damn here, now is he?' Tifa shot back, no real malice or care in her words. Her eyes were slightly lidded and her mouth twitched minutely as she slowly peeled off her shirt. Underneath it she had only the bandages around her chest. Bruises and cuts were visible and her back still looked raw and red. For a while she just stood there.

'Are you going to dip yourself in the water or not?' The Kazekage asked with a leveled tone of voice.

The corners of Tifa's mouth twitched. He was teasing her in his own way.

'The bandages are stuck to the stitches. I have to change them.'

The shuffling sound of cloth stopped. The Kazekage had probably stopped moving after hearing her reply. Pervert. The silver-haired woman rolled her eyes and then slowly dipped herself in the cool water of the oasis' pool. She clenched her teeth as she felt the cold biting into her still tender back and into her stitches. She stood still for an undefined period of time, as the dried up blood and antibiotics dissolved slowly about her form. She touched the bandages. Good. They were loose enough. By the time she was done unwrapping the cloth, it had already gotten dark, the only light illuminating her form coming from the campfire the Fourth had set up. Not a word had been spoken in a while. For some reason Tifa felt slightly annoyed by that fact. Not that she would initiate a conversation. That would make her look as if she had some sort of interest in socializing with the Kazekage. Which she did not. And there was no point in speaking when there was nothing of value to be said. On the other hand she felt slightly irked. A disgruntled voice in the back of her mind was naggingly telling her that maybe she was getting too used to the bastard.

A very slight frown appeared on her face. Most of the time they were at each other's throats, playing sophisticated dominance mind games that were so subtle only trained Jounin or people who knew them just that well could catch on what was going on. Not that it was a secret that the two of them were constantly trying to gain the upper hand in their little spiffs. And the tension that was constantly growing between them. Tifa may not be Einstein but she wasn't brainless either. The two of them just rubbed the wrong way- wait. Was she actually thinking over their relationship?

'What is it?'

Tifa nearly stiffened. Was she just that aggravated that her tension was showing?

'Nothing. The wounds are fucking with my sense of pain. And my sense of pain is screaming like a dirty two-rate whore.'

The Kazekage did not reply immediately. Sometimes he just wished he could scrub away her dirty language, just so he could enjoy spending time with her properly. Despite the angry, tender red coloring of her back and the stitches visible here and there, she still looked like a warrior princess, with muscles like fresh lean venison. It was sad really. Had she the tongue of a noble, she would've had many suitors from all over Suna. There were some splashing sounds and the Kazekage sneaked a look again. She had started to lightly pour water over her stitches. Her back was still turned to him and there was a scowl on her face. He couldn't do anything about it, really. He could try, no matter how awkward it would be. He could just see himself castrated by her bare hands if he tried to do anything of the sort. The thought brought a smile to his face. He almost felt young again – the excited rush of wondering whether the woman would either castrate or scalp you if you tried to court her. A small chuckle escaped from his mouth. He couldn't really help it.

'What?' Tifa snapped at him.

'I wonder if you'd kiss your mother with that mouth.'

The silver-haired woman's jaw dropped and her eyebrows skyrocketed. No two seconds later her boot was flung with deadly precision to his head. Naturally, he dodged, another chuckle escaping him. A few moments later she threw her other boot at him.

'You are out of ammunition.'

'And you are being childish.'

Her back never even once left his sight. She did not turn to look at him but he knew that she was probably scowling at his antics the same way she knew he was smirking at her.

'That was a weak comeback.'

'And you are acting out of character.'

'Hn.'

Now that was not what he expected her to say. In fact, it was something very strange to say. And her tone… Maybe he had imagined it but… had there been a note of bitterness in it? Was it something he said? Most likely. Maybe it was his behavior that most likely insulted her sense of honor on a deeper level. Did she think he was mocking her? Maybe it was his comment about her mother. She never really mentioned her. What if she had died in some gruesome way and he just rubbed salt into an old but still open wound?

Again, there was a long period of silence. It was an almost uncomfortable one and the Kazekage soundlessly shuffled his position. He contemplated on whether to apologize or not for the comment he made about her mother. Or whatever he did to get her in a bitter mood.

**888**

'Dobe. That Hitai-ate is used.'

'Oi! Teme! I got it fair and square! Iruka-sensei gave it to me!'

'Hn.'

'Bastard.'

'Deadlast.'

Sakura just watched their antics. There was no malice in them. Ever since Sasuke let Naruto and then Hinata sit with him on the same desk it had been like that. It was strangely fascinating to watch them and she still could hardly believe how those two could be friends. How could the Rookie of the Year be friends with the Deadlast? How could someone as cool as Sasuke could consider someone so lame like Naruto a friend? It was incomprehensible.

'So that Hitai-ate was Iruka-sensei's?' there was genuine interest in Sasuke's voice. His dark eyes calmly taking in the fine scraps on the metal plate of the headband. 'I think that makes it even more valuable.'

'I know! Hey,Teme? Wanna visit Iruka-sensei after this? He's still at the hospital.'

'Hn.'

'All right!'

'Ahem.' the two boys fell silent as their sensei prepared to finally present himself.

Kakashi's lonely visible eye took in their immediate attentiveness. Sakura was sitting primly on Sasuke's one side, chin slightly raised in the air, cheeks flushed with excitement and eyes shimmering likewise. She was desperately trying to keep poise she was too young to understand and even younger to pull off. Next to her the raven haired boy was looking slightly lax in his pose but his observant gaze did not go unnoticed. He was the rookie of the year and he looked every bit that role. In otaku language that would translate into 'cool rival guy'. And last but not least was one Uzumaki Naruto, whose exuberant personality was showing off in every single one of his cells. He had seated himself on Sasuke's other side, feet swaying back and forth, looking around every five or so seconds, hands on either side, their fingers drumming. His azure eyes held the very upmost height of boyish mirth that could be achieved.

'Since we are going to be a team, how about we get to know each other better? Likes, dislikes, dreams… that kind of thing.'

'How about you go first, sensei?' Sakura asked in her sweetest voice, with the cutest angel-ish smile she could come up with that she used to use once a month on her mother when she really wanted something and right after getting her report card from the Academy. Luckily she wasn't looking at Sasuke who gave her a sideways glance that for all intents and purposes was a cool rival guy version of the default 'Are you for real?'- sideways glance. Had she looked it would've broken her heart to have seen the disdain in his eyes at that particular moment.

Naruto, who was also looking in Sakura's direction but a lot more obviously, noticed the expression on Sasuke's face. The two had been friends just about enough with each other for him to finally pick up some of the meanings behind the raven-haired boy's expressions. So he poked him in the ribs. Sasuke did not look at him but returned the favor with a half-hearted swing of his left elbow. Not a word was exchanged.

'Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I am your Jounin Sensei. I have lots of things I like, some dislikes…and my dreams… hm. I don't think I want to tell you that.'

'So all you told us was your name.' Sasuke spoke just stating the obvious. For a real ninja the name and the description of the person should be enough information to start with. It was something Anko-sempai always nagged about. The other things she liked to complain or nag about were usually centered around technical problems in the T&I, Morino Ibiki (whoever that was) being a sourpuss and last but not least, Hatorri's lack of taste for dango.

'Why don't you go next, broody.' Kakashi said, earning a snicker out of Naruto, who promptly got shoved by Sasuke's elbow. Naturally, the blonde started snickering even harder. Sasuke ignored him as he started speaking.

'My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like my personal space, peace and quiet, training with the dobe and Hinata. And sparring with Hannah-san. I am also partial to lasagna and Hatorri-sempai. I dislike fan girls. I _greatly _dislike squeaking nuisances. My dream…it is more of an ambition. I will rebuild my clan and I _will_ bring to _justice_ those who have wronged us.'

'Hm, okay. You next, Pinky.'

Sakura furled her brows at the horrendous nickname but quickly dropped the sour expression for a more esthetically pleasing one.

'My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes…_giggle…_ My dislikes are Ino-pig and NARUTO! And my dream is to…squeee!' she blushed as she squealed and giggled in Sasuke's direction.

Naruto was crest-fallen for about 5 seconds while Sasuke could not refrain from inhaling and exhaling audibly in defeat and then lowering and shaking his head. He would have to make sure to shorten his gennin years as much as possible. There was no way in hell he could work with that…that pink thing that would give a kidney for a photo of him naked. He blamed Anko for all those sleepless nights silently praying she would never make good on her promise to sell naked photos of him for great profit. Naruto poked him in the ribs again. He'd have to make good on a promise of his own. Hit Hatorri repeatedly for telling Naruto to keep watch on Sasuke's behavior towards ladies. He retaliated with his left elbow, not even bothering to look at the blonde.

'I see…hm…You next, Blondie.'

'Oh yeah! It's my turn!' Naruto pumped his fist in the air.' My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the next Hokage! Believe it! I like ramen, especially the ramen at Ichiraku's and I like training and sparring with Sasuke-teme, and Hinata-chan, and Hannah-chan even if she is creepy and all soulless like most of the time, and Anko-sempai- oh! I also like Hatorri-sempai's cooking almost as much as Ichiraku's ramen I also like Hinata-chan's cooking. Her sweet bean paste is really something. She's such a nice person too. And Sasuke-teme can be a nice person but he is a teme most of the time. About dislikes….uhm… I HATE DANGO! When I become Hokage I will BAN Dango from Konoha because it sucks!'

'Naruto, you can't do that.' Sasuke tried to say but Naruto was off in his little world plotting courses of action against dango.

'I don't care what Anko-sempai thinks, dango sucks so much it hurt my tummy just from smelling it! My tummy started growling and raging and be all like 'I hate dango ROAR bring on the ramen!'Naruto even made a roar-ish face with lifted up hands like claws and all that. A vein had appeared at some point on Sakura's plentiful forehead and it was slowly speeding up the frequency of its pulsations.' I'd also make Ichiraku ramen part of the ninja's mandatory staple diet! That way you not only eat stuff like veggies and apples, but also the food of the gods! RAMEN! Believe it!'

'Dobe, your dreams. Tell us about your dreams.' Sasuke sounded as bored as a person who had heard that speech more than a hundred times. This week alone.

'Oh yeah! My dreams! I will become the next Hokage and then absolutely everyone will have to acknowledge me and respect me! And I will also be the first kage with their own Ichiraku ramen chain of restaurants in all five major Elemental countries. And most of the smaller ones. Except Bird country. Bleh. I'll level that place to the ground if I have to. According to Anko-sempai they make the best dango and she buys import at Yoshio's dango shop. Bleh. Dango sucks ma-'

'Naruto, just shut up.' Sasuke calmly said, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Sakura's popping vein was near its limit before exploding.

To Kakashi, it was obvious who was going to be the leader amongst the three of them. He also noted, surprisingly enough, that Naruto and Sasuke were even friends. He expected rivalry. The same kind he had with Obito. The two of them could obviously work well together in a team. He was worried about Sakura however. Her aloof fangirlish behavior placed a heavy stigma upon her otherwise near perfect Academy record. Taking into account the Uchiha boy's immense disdain towards her and Naruto's childishness, he was having serious doubts if they were going to make it as a team. At all. And he promptly told them just that.

**888**

She should have trained more. If only she had the same drive like Sakura- no! Even then she probably wouldn't have been picked anyway. She always tended to pull out the short straw in most events of her life. Hinata looked almost fearfully at their sensei. She was a decent person. Very kind and polite. Hinata had known Kurenai for several years now. She met her when her father had her delivered to the Academy for the first time. They were not friends per se, but she knew that she had recently been promoted to Jounin.

Hinata sighed discreetly. It was wrong of her to feel cheated by the system. Sure, she wanted to be in the same team and Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun, but now that she wasn't, she was just being unfair towards Kurenai-sensei, Kiba-san and Shino-san.

A wet doggy nose poked her cheek. She turned to see the white puppy lolling its tongue at her. She blinked and then noticed Kiba looking at her seriously.

'See, Shino? I told you she was just shy. Even Akamaru thinks she's allright!' the Inuzuka burst out and grinned boyishly, confidently, showing off pronounced canine pearly whites.

Hinata blushed a little and then smiled. Things were going to be okay, she guessed.

**888**

Cooking up a small feast was not exactly the manliest thing ever, but since there were no women living at the Uchiha compound and since he took quite the pride in his cooking skills, Hatorri could hardly wait for his guests to arrive so that they could praise-

SLAM!

'Sasuke? Is that you?' Hatorri shouted from the kitchen.

'Hrmph'

The raven haired boy appeared before Hatorri with the sour look of a mean old drunk denied his last drink. The young man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose for a second. When dealing with Sasuke, one had to have a lot of patience. The boy needed a calm and staple, loving environment, a lot of positive outlook and a tremendous amounts of effort to even get him to smile. But all that hard work was paying off, so it would not be a good thing for Hatorri to lose his temper now.

'What happened Sasuke?' he asked calmly after a few seconds.

Sasuke grumbled again in response, now having taken a seat at the kitchen table, hands crossed before his chest and head lowered, his killer glare obscured by his dark locks of hair.

'We are going to fail if that Haruno girl doesn't get her act straight. I will NOT go back to the Academy because of her!'

'And so you forgot to invite your team because?'

Sasuke grumbled again, not really in the mood to explain himself.

'And what am I going to do with all this food then?' Hatorri asked himself rather than really asking Sasuke. He was still calm, even though he had the slightest note of disappointment about him.'Oh well, that means more food for tomorrow, eh, Sasuke? A big feast for breakfast!'

'Sensei told us not to eat tomorrow morning or we will throw up.' Sasuke said dejectedly.

Hatorri chuckled.

'And you would listen to him because he is your sensei?'

'Of course.'

'Let me get this straight. Your sensei told you that you are going to go back to the Academy if you don't…'

'If we don't pass the survival test tomorrow. He wouldn't declare us a team otherwise!'

'You're a smart kid, Sasuke. If he hasn't declared you a team yet doesn't that mean he is not your sensei yet?'

Sasuke actually perked up at his words. A small smile formed on his lips, devious thoughts already sprinting through his ninja-bred mind.

'He'll never know what hit him.'

With that Sasuke sprinted out the house and off to find Naruto.

'And he didn't even try my perfectly prepared BBQ bits.' Hatorri sighed sadly. He then looked at said BBQ bits and gingerly popped a piece of deliciously dripping with BBQ sauce meat in his mouth.

**888**

'Dammit, the dobe is not home. Where could he be?' Sasuke said after two minutes of snooping about Naruto's shabby apartment. 'Ichiraku Ramen it is…'

Naruto wasn't there either but Old Man Ichiraku was kind enough to point him towards the hospital. Naruto had said that he would go there to see how Iruka-sensei was doing. He should've thought of that earlier, but considering what was currently going on through his mind it was no wonder he was so…sidetracked.

As he got to the hospital he barely contained himself from shouting at the poor receptionist lady to find out where Iruka was situated. When he literally kidnapped Naruto after giving Iruka a short greeting, the tan young man merely smiled. It was good for Naruto to have friends. He was probably going to hear about whatever they were planning tomorrow or in a day or so anyways. It was almost sad that he had no idea Sasuke was planning to prove to Hatake Kakashi in the 'best' possible way that he was not Academy material anymore. He would've had popped an aneurism.

Hatorri never noticed his bingo book disappearing.

The morning arrived to reveal Sasuke and Naruto heavily armed from top to bottom with all kinds of ninja tools. They had been an hour early before their appointed time, fully prepared to expect the unexpected. It was a do or die situation for them, both wanting nothing else than to prove they are good enough to be real ninja. Their sensei was no other than Copy Cat Kakashi, an ex-ANBU, a man whose left eye was actually a Sharingan eye, much to Sasuke's great surprise. Basically they were completely outmatched. Anything that could be conformed in some way to any kind of standards would not be enough for them to defeat a Jounin of that caliber. To even make some kind of progress against him, they had to do something so ingenious and so out there that even he, Hatake Kakashi, would not know how to react to that. Alone, Sasuke would've merely been able to impress with his 'better than average' trap making skills for someone who is just out of the academy. With Naruto, however, he was capable to cover a lot of ground with huge amounts of traps. There was no need to lure Kakashi in a certain direction. With Naruto's crazy Kage Bunshin technique, it was possible to cover an entire training ground with traps if they so desired for the same amount of time he could make 4-5 traps.

No. Hatake Kakashi was a Jounin. He was not just above average. To be the best of the best one had to be able to spot things no one else would think of. Sasuke did not expect him to fall for any of his traps. In fact, he relied on Naruto's little add-ons to work. Basically, the plan was to wear out the Jounin as soon as possible to get him to make mistakes. Having faux Kage Bunshin created traps was a great way to wear him down in order to conserve materials and energy at the same time. Those traps would activate and then disappear. Every once in a while there would be a real trap, with real, non-Kage Bunshin materials. That was just part of the grand scheme the two boys had cooked up during the night. Naruto had come up with some really out there ideas that were only doable, again, thanks to his Kage Bunshin technique.

It was a shame that the technique was so chakra-intensive. He could just see Naruto making a few hundred copies of himself and taking over a small country just by firing Kage Bunshin generated ammo. Or completing assassination missions the same way, with a Kage Bunshin instead of his real self. Upon impact the weapon would disintegrate. There would be no sign of what or who had made the killing blow. Now if he could only convince Naruto to make some clones and clean up the Uchiha District. Now that would be the ultimate utility jutsu. True, he could not even manage to make a single clone still, but considering how chakra intensive it was. It was better to leave it to the chakra freaks. Like Naruto. Every time he thought about that amazing jutsu, Sasuke imagined a new way to utilize that jutsu. It made him feel giddy, really. Making Naruto see the amazing possibilities…well, that was a sore point for the Uchiha still. He will eventually persevere. He was sure if he used ramen in some form to get Naruto's attention, it'll work out just fine in the end.

**888**

Sakura hadn't slept that night. Nor had she been able to eat anything since lunch. She felt so tense and excited at the same time that she could barely wait for the sun to rise up. It was oddly silent outside. It was Saturday and people were sleeping in. On weekdays the working class of Konoha would be doing their jobs long before the sun would rise and there was always this unidentifiable mixture of sounds that accompanied the life in the bustling hidden ninja village. But on weekends it was calm and silent. There was the occasional very quiet rustling sound coming from the roof from the occasional ninja rushing through. The rustling of leaves, the soft whispers of a passing breeze. The songs of the early birds. It was peaceful, beautiful and lovely, and usually, Sakura would also sleep in, enjoying this simple but precious setting.

Today, however, promised to be anything but that. The silent moments of dawn brought along only the hammering sounds of her own worry and excitement. The young pink-haired girl was abuzz with energy and she felt as if she would start twitching any moment now. Every once in a while her head swayed ever so slightly. It was warm outside. Warm and sunny. Sakura felt cold and her fingers were pale and chilly. She hoped she had what it takes to pass whatever test their sensei would put them through. The sleepiness was nearly overcome once she got outside and started walking towards her destination. Her goal was to be 15 minutes early before the appointed time.

When she arrived, she had been the first of her team. Sakura looked around just in case she had missed anyone. She shrugged and straitened her already perfectly ironed red dress, bearing the Haruno family crest. Her hair was also perfectly combed with her headband primly tied on her head. Sakura took some satisfaction in being the first to arrive.

When the 15 minutes passed and it was already time for everyone to be here. It would be some time before Sakura would see anyone in the vicinity but herself.

**888**

**-Several Hours Earlier-**

'We're fucked.'

Sasuke didn't say anything in reply to that. Naruto's statement was true enough even if unnecessarily crude. The blonde boy was as white as a sheet of paper. Sasuke realized a tad bit too late that maybe reading Kakashi's profile on the bingo book with Naruto was not such a good idea. While Naruto was panicking and despairing over the loss of his title as ninja, Sasuke sat still deep in thought. In the ninja world even bad news was better than no news. Hatorri's chance possession of a foreign country bingo book was a chance to learn more about their sensei and be better prepared. For the time he had lived with Hatorri, Sasuke had come to the conclusion that there was no pride or honor in being a ninja. It was not Hatorri, but Anko who was responsible for that little revelation. There was always someone stronger than you. You would never be able to excell in every single type of ninja combat. In theory a ninja was to be able to do anything and everything to get the job done. In reality, human nature was flawed and no one was able to do absolutely everything. That was why the academy thought only three ninja skills while preparing them physically and mentally to be the Daimiyo's little shadow soldiers. Having a Bloodline was a nice shortcut to overcoming that hidden rule of the ninja world. The Sharingan was capable of copying everything perfectly, from dialect and way of speech to the intricacies of ancient complex jutsu. Sasuke possessed the Sharingan. Or he would soon enough. The Uchiha rubbed the bridge of his nose. They needed a miracle to pull this off.

It was at this point when something clicked within his mind. Hatorri wasn't the only person who had come from another universe. While he doubted Hannah would tell him anything, Helen was quite the viable information source if he could persuade her to help out.

'Naruto, I have a plan. Let's go!'

'Allright!'

Going to the Hyuuga compound was the last thing Naruto would've thought about but here he was with Sasuke, trying to sneak pass the guards of the clan with the all-seeing eyes. And failing miserably, of course. Maybe Sasuke had gotten a little overconfident about his skills again. Judging by Hiashi's glare, Naruto decided that Sasuke needed a bit more practice sneaking around. It never crossed Naruto's mind that they were caught because he was like a lamp to moths with the amount of chakra he was exhuding while under stress.

'It is 3 am in the morning Uchiha. I hope you have at least a decent explanation for this... nuinsance.'

Both boys were tied up and with their own personal Hyuuga watching over them. They had been poked and poked, and poked untill even naruto felt utterly numb in the limbs. Sasuke looked at Naruto and mentally sighed. While he looked determined enough to drill a hole through the Hokage monument with his teeth, he was also sweating bullets and breathing heavily, showing just how desperate and panicked he was.

'Calm down Naruto. We're here to speak with Helen-san.' Sasuke stated as neutrally as he could.

He was pretty desperate as well but he would not be an Uchiha if he could not keep his cool. If Hannah was awake by now, they'd have absolutely no chance at this and now that they were in Hiashi's clutches, he was already planning out his speech to the Hokage, explaining in great detail why they had resorted to this.

'What if Hannah-chan is here? She'll kill us!'

'Shut up, Dobe!'

'Shut up! She'll eat us alive! Let me outta here!'

Hiashi could only do so much to not sweat drop. Considering a little girl a bigger threat than the leader of the clan was very degrading.

'Is that sweet little Naru-chan's voice that I'm hearing?'

'Helen-san.' Sasuke greeted.

'What brings the little Uchiha in the Hyuuga compound at this hour? And brought a friend too, I see?' the elegant woman chuckled, but Sasuke did not find the sound to his liking. It was similar to the feeling of a cat who has caught mice to play with.

'Helen go back to your room.'

'But Hiashi-sama, I am pretty certain they are here to see me. After all, you two are here to ask me about Kakashi, are you not?'

Hiashi looked at the two boys and was surprised to see Sasuke nodding in agreement. The clan leader narrowed his eyes.

'Why would the Hatake interest you, Helen?'

'It is not interest, per se, but rather...hmm, a chance of fate?'

'I see. So Hatake Kakashi is going to be Team 7's Jounin sensei?'

'Yes, Hyuuga-sama. And he requires us to pass a survival test tomorrow. If we do not pass it, he would have us returned to the academy.'

'To my office. Helen, you come as well.' Hiashi commanded.

The short trip was silent. Sasuke and Naruto were still tied up and their two Hyuuga guards were carrying them to their destination. The Hyuuga compound was not too different from the Uchiha compound. They are both traditional, though the Hyuuga had the better gardens by a long shot. Not that he would ever say that out loud.

'Hatake Kakashi is an exceptional ninja. He was a student of the Fourth, after all. If you fail to meet his requirements to become genin then you should quit the academy all together.' Hiashi started as he sat down.'As much as he is a prodigious ninja, Hatake-san is also known for being late to everything less than an A-rank mission.'

Hiashi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

'Release them.'

'Hai, Hiashi-sama.' the two Hyuuga guards responded and dutifully unbound the two boys.

'Leave.'

They bowed and it was only Hiashi, Helen, Sasuke and Naruto left.

'Helen, tell them what you will, but if anything happens I will deny any involvement. It will be on your head.' The Hyuuga clan head left his office after that statement.

'Pardon my French, but Hiashi-sama can by a right stiff bastard. He means well, though.'

When neighter boys said anything, Helen's pale lavender eyes observed them.

'You can relax, you know. Hannah is on her first ANBU mission, so you'll be safe unless Simon decides to wake up right now and take a walk to Hiashi-sama's office.' Helen chuckled and pulled away a stray lock of hair behind her ear.'But that will not happen. I've made sure he wouldn't way well untill 9:00 am tomorow.'

'Helen-san, what will the survival test be?' Sasuke got straight to the point.

'Hey! You look like Hannah-chan! Are you her mom?'

Sasuke actually cringed. Telling a woman she was old in any way was suicide. Especially when said woman was vain. Furthermore they had met her earlier or did Naruto forget the occasionally thrown out word 'sister'?

'Hm. I am her older sister.' her voice was sweet poison.'The test is to get two bells. Your team consists of three Genin. Here is a sound advice- being polite costs you nothing. Now scoot.'

As Sasuke and Naruto left the Hyuuga compound, the Uchiha could not help but glare at Naruto.

'Way to go Naruto.'

'What! She told us what the test is, didn't she?'

'She did, but she would've given us a tip how to do the survival test successfully, dobe.'

'But if there are two bells and three of us, then one goes back to the Academy.'

'Now you notice, Naruto.'

'All we have to do is work together and wear Kakashi down enough for us to grab the bells. And I have just the thing for that plan...' And, naturally, that plan did not include Sakura.

**888**

'Hatorri-sempai's cooking is awesome! I feel stuffed!'

'I told you not to eat so much, dobe!'

'No you didn't! You were too busy eating your own piece of whatsitmacallit, teme!'

'YOU'RE LATE!'

'Ah! Sakura-chan!'

'You are loud, Sakura.'

'I mean, uh, it's one hour after the appointed time, Sasuke-kun.'

'If yesterday was any indication, our sensei is always late, Sakura.'

'I see, Sasuke-kun. Um, did you have breakfast? You know our sensei said not to eat.'

'If we aren't a team yet then we can easily disregard his instructions. We are here to prove we are fit for ninja, Sakura, not eager puppies.'

'If you say so, Sasuke-kun.'

'So now all we have to do is wait for Kakashi...' Sasuke mumbled, mostly to himself.

And wait they did. For another 2 hours an 20 minutes. It was 15 minutes to 11 when their silver haired to be sensei showed up. When he did show up, he found the last Uchiha taking a nap under the shade of a tree, Sakura tentively seating close to him, but trying to play casual and Naruto walking off his energy. When his team finally noticed him, their reaction was as expected.

'YOU ARE LATE!' Sakura and Naruto yelled simultaneously, jerking the napping Sasuke awake.

'Hn.' The raven haired boy grumbled as he dusted himself off of any dirt or grass that had stuck to him. At least he had gotten some shut eye and an extra bit of energy for the survival test.

'I've set this clock to noon. You will have time until then to get these two bells from me. If you don't get any bells untill noon, I will tie you to one of those training logs and eat right in front of you.'

'But sensei, there are only two bells and three of us.'

'You are observant, Sakura. That means that one of you will go back to the academy anyways. If you even want to have a chance at this, you must come at me with the intent to kill.'

Sakura paled. Sasuke would make sure he and Naruto got the bells. They were friends and even if she was the second to top student in the Academy, Sasuke was leagues ahead of her and Naruto, even if Dead Last, was a stamina freak and under Sasuke's guidance was capable of certain feats of strenght. That being said, most of his 'feats of strenght' were usually useless and degrading, like that Oiroke no Jutsu. Ugh.

If Sakura wanted to even have a chance at this, she had to do her best. She might be the first Haruno to train for ninja, but she was certainly not going to be any less honorable than the rest of her clan of civilians.

Kakashi reached for his back pouch and all three tensed. He pulled out a certain orange book and started reading from it. Naruto was about to yell at him but Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder.

'Don't bother, Naruto.' _Payback is for later._

Naruto Backed down but his fists were still clenched. He did not like being ignored. But Sasuke did have a point. There were horrors expecting their sensei not 5 meters away into the shrubbery an trees.

'Hm. Begin.'

It was 15 minutes before Kakashi decided to go on the search himself.

**888**

'When do you think he will step into a trap?'

'I don't know Naruto.'

'Do you think he sees the traps?'

'I don't know Naruto.'

'What if he doesn't fall in any of the traps?'

'I have absolutely no idea, Naruto.'

'But what if-'

'Just shut up, Dobe and be quiet! We're trying to stay hidden!'

'Teme.'

Just as Sasuke was about to sigh with fustration, a loud booming explosion could be heard not 20 meters away from them. And then there was another explosion. And another. There was a high-pitched yelp and then another set of explosions in a different direction.

'Oh no! We forgot Sakura-chan!' Naruto went as pale as a sheet of paper, while Sasuke cursed Sakura's high-pitched squealing tendencies. There was no way Naruto would let her wander into the traps like that any further. He liked her for some reason. If only he had some knock out gas handy...

'Teme! We have to go and save Sakura-chan! She might fall into our traps!'

'Naruto! Wait!'

It was too late. Naruto rushed off and lo and behold- he fell into one of the many traps they had layered in the area. The stoic boy could not help but cringe.

'Sasuke! Help!'

They were so going to fail this. With that thought in mind, he painfully dragged himself to the location of Naruto's entrapment.

'Shit.'

Naruto was completely knocked out. The dobe just had to fall into one of his own original traps. Sasuke sighed. They were going to fail. There was no point in delusion when he knew alone he was completely. That did not mean he would go down without a fight. That they would go down a fight. Even if he had to drag Naruto's unconscious ass across the trap infested training field.

Another set of minor explosions was heard not too far away. Sasuke abandoned his task of unwrapping Naruto of wire and simply freed him of whatever was still keeping him rooted to his spot. A more compact naruto with less flaying limbs meant less trouble for sasuke to haul him about and less sound to make for their Sensei to find them. Though, to be perfectly honest with himself, Kakashi probably already knew where they were or simply downplayed his Jounin skills.

There was a far off yelp. Sakura probably got caught in one of the Kage Bunshin traps. There was the tell-tale explosion and then there was another one. A small smile appeared on his lips. She was not going to steal their bells. In fact, the entire thing was part of his plan. No Sakura meant no annoying fangirl and that would make their sensei give more attention to him and Naruto instead of all three of them.

He acknowledged the fact that his plan _may_ have been a wee bit too harsh on the pink-haired girl but if she wanted to be ninja as much and Naruto and himself wanted, then she'd either understand them or get her act together and somehow by some complete stroke of luck get a bell and secure one of the positions as Genin.A true ninja did what they had to do using any means necessary. And since Sasuke liked Naruto times better than Sakura... well, she did not stand a chance in his opinion.

Sasuke grunted as he pulled at Naruto's jacket. He was definitely going to force the dobe to cut back on some of his ramen. The black haired boy was starting to feel the fatigue of not sleeping and the stress in general and dragging an unconscious Naruto while making sure to avoid his traps, cover up his tracks and hide from Kakashi's senses. There! By the rock wall. He was pretty certain that spot was clear of traps as he had checked everything personally. With a tired grunt he hauled Naruto by the rock wall and finally started to remove all of the wiring. Seeing the blond boy so still was slightly disturbing to him. There was the distinct lack of Naruto's perpetual movement and that made Sasuke feel lacking that presence even if the boy was right infront of him. The Uchiha sighed. He had to hide him and then he had to determine Kakashi's and Sakura's locations. Then he would think about any plan that would give him a bit of an edge before his sensei completely slaughters him.

**888**

Traps. Traps everywhere. Some of them were real, while others disappeared moments after being activated and well after the damage had been done. Sakura refused to think of the amount of twigs, grass and leaves she had pulled out of her hair to this very moment. Her red dress was now more of a green-brown color as it was covered with numerous patches of dirt and grass stains. Light bruises and minor cuts were also evident. A bitter thought was rising within the depths of her mind and there was a tiny voice (no doubt Inner Sakura) quietly cursing the day Sasuke and Naruto decided to be friends. This. All of this had to be Naruto's fault. Had he not had this detrimental influence on her precious Sasuke, then none of this would've been happening. Even though she felt to be on the verge of tears, Sakura squashed down that feeling and grudgingly (and somewhat wobbly) carried on through the shrubbery.

Crack!

Sakura's entire body froze in horror. Her eyes shifted their gaze downwards. She had stepped on a dry twig. Upon closer inspection there was an extremely thin matted green and brown wire running through it. It was nearly impossible to see, but having been caught more than 7 times already, she was starting to pick up at least some of her surroundings, even if she was late in doing so.

_There are so many traps here! It's inhumanly possible to have placed them all during the night. The materials alone cost a fortune!_

There were sweat beads appearing on Sakura's skin.

_If I move my foot I will activate the trap. But, on the other hand, if I don't move my foot from there either Kakashi or Sasuke and Naruto will find me._

She gulped. Right about now neighter choices were to her liking. Since Sasuke did not bother to find her, confirming her otherwise 90% accurate assumption that Sasuke would exclude her from his bell catching attempts, Sakura had decided to persevere as much as she could. She would take a 2 day long and relaxing bath after that and maybe some leisure time at the hot springs. That was a good plan. And go to the hair dressers'. Yes. Thinking happy thoughts was always a good way to cheer her up. And maybe if she got a bell or proved herself competent enough, Sasuke would finally acknowledge her as a possible girlfriend.

There was a rustling, dragging noise behind her. Sakura stiffened but did not move her foot.

'S-Sak-kura! H-help me!' That was Sasuke's voice!

She turned around and saw the utterly battered and bloodied body of her idol. The horror that had struck her then and there... well, she had never seen the like of.

'SASUKE-KUN!' she screeched with all her might, trap completely forgotten. One would think that her fainting in the middle of setting off a chain reaction of a whole system of traps was a low point in one's shinoby career. But Kakashi, Jounin of many years of experience, knew that that was not so. In fact, it was a low point in a shinobi's career when a man such as he got caught into the chain reaction along with the aspiring newly minted Genin.

For some 10 seconds there was utter chaos of flying senbon, shuriken, kunai, logs, leaf piles, and what not in all possible dirrections and from all possible directions. Chaos was a lovely thing. For it created otherwise impossible flukes of fate, for in Kakashi's rush to protect his precious Icha Icha from the Trap onslaught a piece of flying shinobi equipment managed to cut off one of the bells, which fell on the ground and rolled conveninently under the fallen cage log contraption that was neatly covering (and thus trapping and also protecting) one Haruno Sakura from the chaos.

Kakashi ran off from the scene, trying to keep himself safe from more activated traps, as some stray flying shinobi equipment kept the perpetual domino effect going on around the currently frustrated Jounin Sensei. At one point he even considered revealing his Sharingan eye but his pride as a jounin would not let him live down the fact that he would've been uphanded by a bunch of newly minted genin, or should he say by Sasuke's devious plotting and planning skills alone.

Sasuke deserved to be a Genin. Too bad this was a team performance test. A stray shuriken wizzed just over the top of Kakashi's silvery mop of hair. That was a close call. Getting a scrape was one thing but to get his hair cut by Sasuke's traps. Konoha's Elite would not let him live that down. Things were getting seriously annoying for his otherwise laid back self. It was time to find Sasuke.

**888**

The Kage Bunshin was a truly remarkable creation of the ninja genius. It was one of the most powerful utility jutsu in existence and it was used from spying, to cutting down on work time to even cramming up two to three times more information. Sadly it required ridiculous amounts of chakra to pull off and sustain, especially when the sustaining part was realized by spliting one's chakra pool into the number of one's self plus their Bunshins. There was a certified minimum of one's chakra pool 'volume'. That volume could be measured by factoring in one's age, gender, physical and mental preparedness, weight and a bunch of other minor stuff like diet, day night regime, stress and so on. Basically a human of 20 years of age (whether ninja or not) was to have a certain amount of chakra within themselves. ONe could go higher than that but not lower since lower meant not enough to sustain one's life force or some such pseudo-scientific nonsence that the Akatsuki Fan Club had come up with during their many meetings.

To sum up the Kage Bunshin (and also to shorten the amount of text wall which the readers would have to go through to get to the point that was going to be made), the jutsu required a lot of chakra to work and depending on the amount used for, let's say one clone, 20 % of one's chakra pool capacity. That limited the amount of Kage bunshin one could create just by these two criteria, no matter how much they could vary. A Kage Bunshin was a perfect tangible copy of the user, clothes, weapons and what not included.

When Kakashi first noticed how some traps only left marks of their effects and their existence but no actual materials, he quickly started to form a Kage Bunshin related theory. When he had discovered that nearly the entire training ground had been completely covered with traps and all of that had been done for a single night, he actually started to worry about the amount of Kage Bunshin needed to pull something of this scale for such a little amount of time.

He had read the report about the incident with Mizuki. Maybe the Chuunin Umino Iruka hadn't exagerated that Naruto had made a small army that had beat the crap out of Mizuki. Then again he had been suffering severe spinal injuries and blood loss. And then he imagined a small army of about 300 or so shadow clones all shooting and throwing and what not into the direction of an enemy village. Hadn't he been a Jounin of his class, he would've shivered. There was no way for Naruto to utilize his Kage Bunshin (even if he was capable of such numbers) to that level. He was not reknowned for his wit. _But Sasuke was._ And that in its own right was a very alarming thought. It skewed the view of Sasuke as a potential leader to that of a merciless and cunning killing machine that utilized verything to its full capabilities, weapons and ninja alike.

**888**

Sakura groggily opened her eyes to find herself encased in the small space that was the insides of a musty old log turned into a cage of sorts. It was probably more of Naruto's level than that of Sasuke, but having her caught in it did not make her situation any better. Dismantling hersel from this simple contraption took her about a minute or so, but only because she felt stiff and cold. When she finally threw the hollow log-cage aside she saw the entire armada of ninja weaponry strewn about her, or rather the huge amount of holes and marks of such weapons littering and imbedding the immediate surroundings of the girl.

It was quite the disturbing sight. Sasuke seemed to be extremely determined to get that Genin spot and a chill ran down her spine. He may be the hottest boy she knew and he may be cool and awesome and handsome and everything, but deep down in her mind she knew she'd remember this day as the first day in which she had ever had the inkling that there might have been something wrong with one Uchiha Sasuke.

As the girl carefully observed her surroundings she saw something flashing among the littered field. It was a bell! Sakura blinked. It had been right next to her head and she had noticed it just now. Once again feeling completely numb with shock, she tenderly picked up the small silvery bell and secured it in one of her pouches. Shinobi life, she had read, was dictated by no small of chance. Today, for the first time, Sakura felt that she actually to being Genin. Not her Sasuke-kun or Naruto the Dead Last. But her, the civilian girl with the book smarts. Now, chance was in her hands. She had no idea what she would do if Sasuke found her now... would she give him the bell and hope for him to return the favour? The rational part of her told her that would be utterly idiotic. But that other, predominant part of her, the one that constantly whispered sweet nothings about her future life as Mrs. Uchiha, told her that giving him the bell would be for the best.

Choices, chances and a new set of traps going off beneath her feet. Sakura screamed once again.

**888**

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, his black eyebrows scrunched together in an ugly, hateful scowl. If looks could kill, the man would've been history half an hour ago... when he had caught sight of Sasuke and had promptly handed him his ass. Nothing too serious of course, but enough to bruise that smoldering Uchiha pride and to incapacitate the boy. He had been left like that in the middle of the thick shrubbery with annoying ants crawling onto him, giving him this most horrendous itch which he had the misfortune to be unable to scratch. He was tied up like some game or something. Kakashi was clearly making a statement. _I don't like your traps._ About ten minutes later he had shown up again with a still unconscious Naruto. There was no sign of Sakura and so Kakashi had both boys tied to stumps with their lovely lunch prepared before them and their Jounin Sensei reading his smut to his heart's desire.

It had been 15 minutes to noon when the Haruto girl finally found them.

'Ah, Sakura. Nice of you to join us.' Kakashi gave her his trademark single eye smile. Sasuke took one look at her and then continued glaring at Kakashi.'Now that we are all here, I believe it is time to wake up your unconscious team mate.' Sakura and Sasuke could practically hear the friendly smile that had spread underneath his mask.

'Uh...wuh...what...HEY! WHY AM I TIED UP! WHAT'S GOING ON?' The blond boy started looking about frantically, only to find himself and Sasuke tied up, Sakura standing silently to the side and eyeing the food before her with something akin to that look Akimichi Chouji pulled off once at the sandwiched Hannah kept bringing their little party for the short while she was an Academy student. And then he noticed Kakashi right in front of him, smiling that single visible eye of his.' EEK!'

'Not that you're awake and- BZZZT!- now that it is finally noon, I am disappointed to say that all three of you failed my test!' That happy statement was somewhat shadowed by Sasuke's mutter of 'You don't look disappointed at all, Sensei'.

'A-ano, sensei?' Great, now she was turning into Hinata, Sakura thought dejectedly and quickly gathered up her courage and tried not to look at Sasuke's smoldering from fury form. ' I have one..uh... I have one bell.'

She looked at her ruined pair of ninja sandals, exuding her sense of discomfort as her crush redirected his killer glare in her direction. For a while there was a stunned silence. For his part, Kakashi was professional enough not to look as surprises as he was. In fact, he was so taken with his idea to find Sasuke and tie him to the poll that he had nearly forgotten to keep his senses on the bells. Indeed, now that he redirected his focus he could feel the lack of one bell. Very slowly and with slightly trembling fingers, the battered girl pulled out the small shiny trinket that was the bell from her pouch. Kakashi's lone visible brow raised a bit.

'Very good, Sakura. You know, I think I will give you guys one more chance.' Sasuke and Naruto looked excited, but Kakashi was planning to crush their hopes one more time.'Let me clarify. There is one more bell. I will give it to Sakura here and she will have to decide which one of you will pass.'

'But Sensei! That means one of us will still go back to the Academy!'

'That's right Naruto. Well, have fun kids, I will be back in 10 minutes.' Kakashi kept smiling even as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Uncomfortable, thick silence ensued.

Sakura did not have the courage to look up and meet any of the boys' gazes. She was still staring at the second bell, Kakashi had gingerly tossed in her hands. Now this was a turn of events she had hardly expected. Force her of all people to choose. It would've been funny if their future careers did not depend on it. Finally, she looked at Naruto and Sasuke. Maybe she could give one to Sasuke and then the other one for herself? But no, Sasuke would never look her way if he cant be with his ...ugh... buddy Naruto. And could she survive that? No. Sasuke was her dream man since she was this big. He was the one thing she knew for certain she could aspire to reach. Stoic, smart, handsome and talented. The last Uchiha. A boy with tragic past but still persevering the woes that fate had thrown upon him.

And then there was Naruto. The boy that annoyed her to no end. The Dead Last. The Dobe. Uzumaki Naruto, the Number One Knuckle-Headed and Most surprising prankster this side of the Elemental Continent. Despite all his negatives, he was fierecely loyal to his friends and that alone made him a lot more precious to Sasuke than she would ever be in any other situation.

'Sasuke-kun... You and Naruto can have the bells. I can try again next year.' Finally she spoke and even tried to smile at them.'You and Naruto work well together and I know he is your friend so I thought-'

'Sakura-chan, no! I won't take it!' Naruto declared.

'But-'

'Sakura, you won your bell fair and square and I will not take it from you.' Neighter his guilt nor the fact that he was going to get majorly chewed out by Hatorri if he did accept would allow him to. Pride had nothing to do with this. Well... maybe a little bit.

'I didn't win it! I found it on the ground among all the trap litter!' Sakura shouted, her cheeks flushing.'I deserve it as much is you do! It was pure luck.'

'And still you did a lot better than the dobe and myself, Sakura. I cannot accept it.'

'I cant take it either, teme! You take it! I don't want Sakura-chan to be left behind! It's my fault I forgot to warn Sakura-chan about the traps!'

Well, that was technically Sasuke's manipulative nature at hand than anything else. Sasuke cleared his throat.

'Naruto, if you want to be Hokage, you have to be ninja and you already failed three times, dobe! You can't go back.'

'I can't do it Sasuke. Sorry, Sakura-chan, I can't accept the bell. It's not right. Even if you did find it just lying there, its still yours since you found it. You should just give the other bell to Sasuke, he designed the traps and everything.'

'Then neighter of us will take the bells.' Sasuke stated gravely.' Keep the bells, Sakura. We will tell Kakashi we don't want them.' It was the only way he'd grudgingly admit himself wrong before her, for the plans he had. It was for the best. Even if he went back, he would at least know that the girl, despite all odd, persevered and managed to score Genin and to become a real ninja.

'I don't want the bells either, Sasuke-kun... Naruto.' Sakura slowly stated and let the two shiny trinkets fall from her hand and onto the green grassy ground. 'I'd rather go back knowing I didn't held any of you back. I wouldn't be able to live with myself otherwise. In fact I would go as far as to ask the Hokage to keep you in the program Naruto... after all, I was the top girl from this year and that has to count for something, right? That way we will all be together again next year-'

'And we can try this test again, together, fair and square.' Sasuke finished for her, making her blush a lovely shade of crimson.' And if Sakura's word isn't enough, then I would talk to the Hokage. And maybe we could get Hinata and Hannah-'

'A rather surprising turn of events.'

The three students whipped their heads into the direction the voice came from. It was Kakashi.

'You know, there is this saying in the Shinobi rule. Those who break the rules are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are even worse than trash. Shinobi are considered by most to be tools and while that is all nice and neat for completing missions and ascending quickly into ranks, it does not overpower the fact that we are all human beings.

Sasuke, you have the makings of a fine shinobi. You come from a powerful clan and you are in the possession of a currently rare bloodline- the Sharingan. That alone makes you an exceptional ninja. But you are also quite cunning and crafty. Impressive how you managed to fill the entire training grounds with traps. I suspect Naruto helped you with that, didn't he? An ingenious use of Kage Bunshin and the materials they spawn with. As much as I appreciate your plan, there was this one flaw. You tried to sabotage your fellow teammate Sakura in order to get the bells for yourself and Naruto. Preparation is key for the shinobi world.

But let me ask you this, Sasuke. Was it worth it to break into the Hyuuga compound in the middle of the night to gain information about your sensei? This was supposed to be a survival test but the only thing I managed to learn was that you can make good traps and utilize your surroundings quite well. But I did not even get to analyze your taijutsu and ninjutsu, let alone genjutsu.

Speaking of genjutsu, Sakura, you were supposed to be good at dispelling those. I am quite disappointed with your performance. And you, Naruto, you were too rash. I am certain that had it not been for Sasuke over there you would've cleared the entire training grounds from traps... by triggering them. You spent nearly the entire excersize being out cold. In the real world you would've been dead.

This was supposed to be a test on your teamwork. All I got was a kunoichi who let her infatuation get the best of her, and two boys who decided that teamwork means just the two of them. There is a reason for having a 4 man cell. I was going to tell you to go back to the Academy but now... I'd think you would be much better off quitting the ninja program entirely.' Even Sasuke had the sense to look properly abashed.' But as I said. Interesting turn of events. So I don't have to evaluate you since you don't want the bells.

I guess you guys...

Pass.'

'What!' All three cried out in surprise.

'In the end you decided to finally act as a team. Considering how ruthlessly your teammates got ravaged by your traps, I was least expecting such valor from you Sasuke.' A small vein started popped on Sasuke's temple.' Maybe there is hope for you yet.' Kakashi gave him an eye smile.

'Does that mean we're finally a team? That I can be a Gennin! YATTA!' Naruto cheered.

Sakura started semi laughing and semi crying from joy. This day had been entirely too nerve-wrecking and now her efforts were finally bearing fruits. Even with Kakashi's small jabs clouding the wonderful news, Sasuke could not help but grace the world with a small smile of his own. Finally, he would be ninja and his ninja team would do what they had to do. He was one step closer to his dream- to bring justice to those who had tarnished the Uchiha clan. And to save his big brother.

_**A/N: I can't believe this took me so long. But medicine takes a lot out of a person. The final few pages just didnt look right in my head for such a long time and with all the tests and exams, I barely had time to sleep, let alone think anything MoR related. I'd like to apologize for the long wait. At least I finally got this chapter behind my back and now I have to work on a few other, important events. Like everything else that I have planned. I don't know how I will write the chapters from now on. I am still considering to reverting back to writing three thousand words per week as I find it a lot easier to write only so much in one go. That way I'd probably bust a new chapter every week but that also leaves me with the question of wheather I would miss some important (or not so important) things. There is a long list of events which has to be adjusted constantly. Im also working on my very own version of this story's mythos, particularly the science behind jutsu and chakra in general. That is something i find very relevant to the story as some things cannot happen without such clarification. Just as we know that aerodynamics are what defines a flying wing's shape, it is the same way for the ninja in the naruto world to know their stuff about chakra and jutsu. At least some of them,that is, like Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya and the like.**_

_**Anyways, I hope you like how Sasuke is utilizing Naruto. While our favourite protagonist is more of a ninjutsu oriented frontliner, Sasuke is quite the thinker. I don't think he could match Shikamaru in wits but he is very crafty and manipulative. After all,he is defined as cool and prodigious- let him be the part and do it properly. With Hatorri's influence there is just so much I can do with existing characters.**_

_**On a third note, unrelated to this entire rant, the reason this chapter set is called 'When the scaints go marching in' is hidden within the lyrics. I suggest reading them to understand. There will apparently be a third and probably a fourth part to this.**_

_**On a fourth note, I am officially declaring Fiona schizophrenic in some form. I blame CNN, her unhealthy interest in dissections, her genetics even, but that fact cannot be denied. I hope that I when this all is finished I would be able to show her character as she is fully fleshed out within my original works. Same goes for almost all of my characters.**_

_**And finally! Do you want me to start an inverse Moons of Red, in which the Akatsuki end up in the Real World? I've talked about it, but mind you that the setting will be ridiculously heavy with all the shit that have finally topped even Fia's can of bullshitting. An older Fia that has decided that she and her friends are better off without her messing in their lives. Obviously this will have a heavily reduced cast, an Underpowered AFC because everyone is getting on with their lives and hasn't the time for that and most importantly a psychotic Fiona hanging precariously to her thin line of chaotic neutrality, considering letting go into the darkness. And where would the Akatsuki fit in? They just don't. We will have the chaos and dark humor we all love, witty ninja mind games, Tobi shenanigans, Tifa badassery (because I firmly believe she is my personal Batman)... and a long list of ideas I'd like to realize with this as well. It will be a lot shorter than my MoR project, but the plan is for it to be something like a serious version of an omake of Moons of Red.**_


	53. Sol Lucet Omnibus

_**A/N: it's crazy hot here in my hometown and not even the air-conditioner can handle this amount of hotness. Given the huge heat wave I am suffering and given the fact that I promised to write a bit about Suna and some other places, here is chapter 53. I hope you guys like it, as I've been crazy busy lately. **__Also, here is another update: I got myself sun poisoning and since nobody where I live has ever heard about it in general, I had trouble finding appropriate remedies for swollen joints due to said sun poisoning. If any one of you have any idea how to deal with this, I would appreciate it if you guys share your home remedies because regular stuff isn't going to cut it. I need stable and steady pain relief for the next ten to fifteen days. And if any of you are curious, the sun poisoning I got was tagged as 40% second degree burns on my arms and legs. Yupie. Without further ado, here is the new chapter. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 53**

**Sol lucet omnibus- the sun shines for all**

**Flashback**

The way back was not uneventful. In fact, as of the past hour and a half, Tifa got the distinct feeling they were being followed. Chakra sensing was not something she had a grasp of, nor did she expect to get any grasp of in the near future. In fact, the only reason she got the distinct feeling of being followed was because she had the honed gut feeling of an experienced soldier. Next to her the Kazekage seemed strangely quiet himself but considering their latest interaction she wasn't exactly surprised.

Tifa sighed and readjusted the mask on her face. The Kazekage sneaked a look at her, observing her motions silently. She locked her gaze with his and gave him a meaningful stare. What followed was an almost non-existent nod on his part, his reddish brown eyebrows crossing ever so slightly. Good, he knew they were followed as well. Not that she expected anything else. He was the Kazekage and if he alone was capable to subdue the Ichibi then she had little to worry about.

And then a little voice at the back of her head told her that the Kazekage had been killed in the desert by Orochimaru's goons none the less. Her heart skipped a beat. What if this was it? She glanced at him again, unknowingly showing a small part of her worries.

There was an ambush of some sort just ahead of them. The silver haired woman readjusted the strap of her bazooka with a thumb. Even though the heavy weapon was chafing her back, she was used to such discomforts in the eve of battles. It was better to concentrate on more important things like possible escape routes, easiest access to certain weapons upon her person and most of all- the Kazekage's safety.

The first kunai was flinged their way no sooner than Tifa tried to wipe some sweat from her forehead. It was the Kazekage's swift reaction of pulling her slightly to the side that spared her from pulling out the nasty blade from the side of her neck. A moment later the two of them were surrounded by masked nin. They were either missing nin, hired nin or Orochimaru's henchmen. Either way she wanted her Kage nice and safe by the end of tomorrow. No one said anything. She stood still, waiting for someone to make their move.

One of the taller masked men launched forward, followed by the rest. The Kazekage was already sporting a kunai in one hand. An enemy pulled out a glistening ninjato and Tifa crouched, letting the Bazooka take the hit. She didn't worry about the flimsy weapon damaging her biggest one-shot nuke. In fact, she was pretty certain the Iron-cast blade was more likely to shatter than her big bad Bazooka.

With a swift motion she unshackled the strap of the Bazooka and swung it forcefully at her closest enemy. He dodged but that didn't stop her, she kept swirling around with the heavy weapon, blocking and countering to the best of her ability. Next to her the Kazekage seemed to bid his time and skill and merely dodged and blocked, not bothering with putting the heat onto their enemies.

Tifa growled and an angry scowl appeared on her face. Her golden gaze pierced the nearest enemy and out of nowhere she thrust the Bazooka forward as fast as she was capable. The ninja curved backwards, avoiding the deadly direct hit but as she had stepped forward with one foot she hooked her other one underneath one of his knees and then pulled forward. A vicious grin spread itself on her face and she stepped on one of his feet and brought down the whole weight of her Bazooka upon his face. Blood spurted everywhere as a satisfying crunch was heard. She did not spare time to dawdle as she lifted the Bazooka and with its other end gutted a ninja that was preparing an attack before her. The man heaved with the force of the blow and blood showered from his mouth. In quick succession she swung her improvised staff and broke the man's jaw. He fell to the ground and she stomped upon his throat, crushing his trachea and thus forcing the man to choke to death on his own blood.

For a matter of seconds two of their attackers had been dispatched. This forced the remaining ones to reevaluate the abilities of their opponents or at least Tifa's. The soldier woman positioned herself with her back to the Kazekage's and her bazooka resting vertically next to her, one hand wrapped with the loose strap, ready to lift the weapon at a moment's notice. It was at this point that the first ninjutsu were released. A combination of Earth and Wind techniques. Figures. The powerful Fire techniques were exclusive to Konoha, especially the trademark Giant Fireball. As spikes of chakra encrusted earth rose from the sand, Tifa and the Kazekage shuffled to different sides and then Tifa pulled out a pistol with her free hand.

Chakra was a fun thing indeed, she mused subconsciously while parrying a ninjato with her pistol. It allowed her to lift the heavy weapon with ease and also use it as a blocking tool with great success.

'Argh' Tifa growled out as a kunai whizzed past her and scraped her cheek. It would've been nice if she had a better grasp of ninjutsu. One of the ninja she tried to hit used an earth spike for Kawarimi, thus avoiding the deadly impact of the Bazooka. It was starting to get harder and harder to dodge, not to mention the Kazekage, who for some reason was downplaying his skills greatly. She'd lecture him on that later. At least he used the Sand Clone technique to block most of the projectiles coming his way.

It was certainly an intense battle, what with all the dodging and swipes and the flying Kunai and Shuriken. Her back burned, the stitches on her chest had let her down at some point and now she was bleeding quite the amount from the chest. It was a superficial wound now, at best, but still rather detrimental to her fighting capabilities.

One of the enemy ninja sneaked a kick in her solar plexus and she stumbled backwards, falling on her back due to the Bazooka's weight. Finally, as the Kazekage saw this, he rushed over to that same ninja and simply embedded his Kunai in the man's throat. Using tremendous speeds, shocking their attackers, he dispatched them nice and quick, all with that same single Kunai he had taken out in the beginning. Once all the ninja were dead, he pulled down his mask and took a few breaths of air. He then helped Tifa up, who was cringing from her wound induced discomfort and the after effects of being kicked straight out in the solar plexus. His hand lingered on hers as he took in her condition with distaste.

He looked at her scraped cheek and with one calloused thumb swiped away some of the blood.

'You should be more careful.' He said and then pulled back, away from her and suddenly turned to look through the dead ninja's loot.

Tifa touched her cheek where he had wiped the blood off. He cared. She did not move or speak, but she kept her gaze on him while he examined their water and food rations and the state of their weapons. Finally, he felt satisfied with the excellent state of one of the ninjato and secured it on his belt. The soldier woman could almost see a minute smile playing on his lips. His otherwise light but still slightly sun kissed skin was flushed from the rush of battle. There was this peculiar look in his eyes that she found to her liking. He seemed excited and his spiky reddish-brown hair glistened with the water he had poured on his head. He wiped his brows with one had and sighed.

He finally turned to her again, still with that small smile playing on his lips, and looked at her.

'Let's go.' He simply said and moved on forward, fixing his mask on the go.

For a few more moments Tifa just stood there, watching him, not sure what to make of him now. There was a tingling sensation in her chest and also a sort of warmth in her stomach. It felt nice. Very nice, in fact. Things had turned out better than expected. These men had not been of Orochimaru's as she had feared and they were probably a bunch of missing nin looking for easy prey. Indeed, she felt extremely nice. It wasn't every day when you get the damsel in distress treatment, especially when the knight in shining armor was the fucking Kazekage to boot.

A silent chuckle escaped her lips and she caught up with the man. So this was what it was like to feel like a giggling school girl and to know your back is safe no matter what. She had always thought the Kazekage was a bit of a push over and that often showed in her attitude. But having seen him move so blurringly fast out of the blue had been somewhat of an eye-opener.

It was sometime later that they stopped and the Kazekage prompted to see her wound. She had used wet cloth to somewhat clean it up but the edges were angry red and despite applying some alcohol and then some of the prescribed medical ointment, it did not look any better than it had been several hours ago. For the most part Tifa ignored the discomfort the wound caused her and opted to look out for any further ambushes along the way. On the other hand, the Kazekage kept glancing at her and her wound, scowling every so often.

'I'll look up your wound now. I don't want to be treating you from gangrene if it could be avoided.' He had said.

And with that Tifa pulled down on her sports bra, enough to fully reveal her wound but not enough to flash the Kazekage. He would've liked that, no doubt, Tifa mused. With the help of a Kunai, some alcohol and the same medicinal ointment, he pulled out most of the remaining pieces of stitching and also removed some of the dead looking skin on the edges of the wound. It was tedious and it hurt and the Kazekage did not give any guarantees that it would not scar in the end, but Tifa did not really care one way or the other. The discomfort was far less noticeable in the morning, however, so the Kazekage must've known what he was doing. He probably had had some experience with these kind of patch up jobs at some point. He had been through two wars, if she knew the local history well enough. Curiosity getting the better of her, she asked about it anyways.

'Have you done this kind of shit before?'

'Hm?' he looked at her and saw her lightly touching her wound with one hand. 'I have.'

And that was that. He didn't elaborate but from his technique alone she guessed it was all personal experience and no medical training mumbo jumbo involved. She wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, really. He looked like the hard-headed type that did everything by himself. And considering how their own Daimiyo was more interested in hiring Fire Country ninja, it wasn't hard to imagine why he had such a self-sufficient attitude about everything. As far as she had observed, Sand ninja specialized in long range attacks, ambushes, poisons and the like. Their numbers were about a fifth of Konoha's forces but all of the ninja were extremely skilled and prepared to do their butchering for the day.

There was little to no crime in Suna. Gaara was the main reason for that, but also the Kazekage did his work diligently and patrols were sent out often, despite the fact their forces were a lot less than that of the other villages. In Suna, D-ranks were considered community service and while the Academy was a small one, the ninja-to-be had to do their quota of D-ranks in order to be allowed to participate in the Genin exam. The system helped fill up the monthly and yearly budget and that also allowed Genin to start directly with higher ranked missions, having already learned teamwork with their fellow classmates.

As much as things were harsh for Suna, the hidden village had a few ways it was capable of prospering, if only the Daimiyo would listen once. The incompetent bastard was the main reason they had gone to Oto in the first place and for once, Tifa could really understand the Kazekage's reasoning behind everything. He may be an asshole, but he was an Asshole that cared about the wellbeing of his village and of his ninja. That redeemed him somewhat in her eyes. And he had acted rather gentlemanly (if that was even a word that could be used to describe him) towards her. His company was no longer just tolerable, but almost nice. She felt relaxed around him and that made her think about, yet again, what was going on between the two of them.

In most ways they always fought for dominance. It was mostly a subconscious thing, as his attitude simply rubbed her the wrong way most of the time and there were more than a few times in which she had wanted nothing more than to shove her fist in his face and…well, beat the crap out of him for recreational purposes. She had yet to spar with him. But seeing him fight like that now, that desire had both increased and there was also a very slight tinge of apprehension. What if she lost to him? It was a serious notion in her mind, as she was not a person prone to losing at all and she could easily see her own imbedded blood thirst taking the better of her in the heat of a losing battle. These types of revelations always worried her. She imagined a situation in which she could've talked him into a spar sometime around her first month in Suna. She would've been completely overwhelmed and then she would've felt like a rookie.

She sneaked a glance at him. The Kazekage was certainly a piece of work. His no nonsense attitude combined with his unusually grim way of viewing things made him seem like a bitter, humorless man. But the last few weeks she saw a subtle change. Either that or he had started to somewhat open up to her.

Whatever angle she looked it at, their characters were surprisingly similar and she found it easy to accept that he might be a kindred spirit that understood the full extents of the harshness of the world and the place of humanity within it.

In the last two days of their trek back to Suna, she walked closer to him.

**888**

There was something morbidly fascinating in watching Gaara and Charlie cuddling on the sofa and sleeping. Tifa did not fail to notice the brand new Ai kanji above Charlie's left brow. Whatever had happened while they were gone must've forced people into believing pigs were flying. Temari and Kankuro looked particularly on edge, standing perfectly straight and still, just like proper shinobi should before their village leader, even if said person was their father. And as of the Kazekage himself- he slowly took off his mask, never taking his eyes off the peculiar sight. He stood like that for a few moments more, only his raised eyebrows betraying his disbelief to the world.

'Explain.' He simply looked at Temari, who at that moment hated being the eldest of his children.

What followed was her bizarre retelling of how Gaara had brought the unconscious girl after having abducted her in the first place and then rambling like a mad person how she was him and she was mother and how they were one. Her voice trembled slightly as she continued to speak and Tifa could not decide whether it was because she was afraid of her father's reaction, or because she was replaying the events in her mind.

Tifa looked at Charlie. All at once she was worried, relieved and curious. But most of all worried for the safety of the Puppet. The silver haired woman took a glance at Gaara. The tormented boy had never looked so peaceful and healthy in his entire life. Perhaps…what had happened had been a good thing. She looked at the Kazekage. The man had absolutely no idea how to react to the sight before him.

'Let's just unpack and get something to eat. We can discuss this later.' She stated quietly, all the while giving him a meaningful look. She did not blame him for what happened and she hadn't gotten Charlie's side of the story. It was a good idea to think over this when she was cool-headed, rested and with a belly full of delicious, fresh food.

As she dropped her pack by the side of her bed, she headed straight to her bathroom, stripping quickly along the way. The shower washed off most of the sand, grime and sweat from the journey back. She used a lot of soap, simply enjoying the sensation of cleansing her body with cool water. The wound on her chest had scabbed over and she delicately applied her fingers around the wound as to not disturb it. Just as she was washing away the soap, there was a knock on the door.

Tifa grabbed a tower and wrapped it around herself. She then opened the door to see the Kazekage.

'What is it, Kazekage-sama?' she was looking straight in his eyes, not at all reacting to his shifting gaze and the very slight blush appearing on his face.

'I must attend to my duties in my office. I will have lunch there and I would like you to join me. Then we will discuss anything that needs to be discussed.' He found it hard to remove his gaze from the wet crook of her neck and then, when turning around, it was almost painful to ignore those shapely, muscular legs. He quickly squashed the urge to simply grab her then and there and keep her delightfully busy for the next three or so days and nights. Had it been really that long since he last had time to desire a woman?

He shook his head and ran a hand through his still damp hair. On her side, Tifa idly wondered when he had learned to shower so quickly.

**888**

Sparkling happy eyes glistened with joy as their owner discovered her precious person to have returned from their mission. Tifa was finally home! There was so much she wished to tell her, she had no idea how to start. It had been nearly a month since she had last seen her. She rushed to her side and hugged her tightly, not letting go for a full minute.

'I missed you too, Puppet.' Tifa said quietly, as she patted her head, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Awakened from all the commotion, a groggy looking Gaara gazed about in confusion. When he spotted Tifa, there was a noticeable amount of Killer intent about him. It was not like before however. Tifa blinked as she realized that he actually looked jealous.

'I think you should go back to Gaara, Charlie. I have to go out now and report at the office. I'll see you later today, Puppet.' With that she waved goodbye with one hand and left for the Kazekage's office.

Approximately an hour later Baki showed up and took the four of them to their usual training grounds to prepare for a mission they would undertake in a few days. Charlie followed, as she was to play, ahem, train her sand techniques with Gaara. That and she made Gaara preoccupied with herself and allowed Baki to easily concentrate on his older siblings, thus completing more work than before, when the boy did nothing more than plot murder and destruction. In Baki's humble opinion, it was a perfect arrangement for all parties and nobody got killed by accident. The girly sandcastles be damned.

**888**

'Enter.'

The Kazekage looked up to see one of his ninja letting Tifa in. He was surprised to see her this early. He had believed she would like to spend more time with the girl.

'You are here, early.' He stated.

'Greetings to you as well, Katsuo-sama.' She greeted and bowed politely.

The Kazekage resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows or to laugh. The only time she ever used his proper name was around his guards or when there were people of some importance in the immediate hearing vicinity. He supposed that trader with whom he had a meeting in 30 minutes had come early. Well, he'd have to wait for him to finish this stack of documents and also eat his lunch in the meantime.

The ninja closed the door behind her and she sat herself on a chair before his desk.

'Katsuo-sama, huh? Who was outside, exactly, this time?'

'An old fart in expensive clothes, waving a fan at his face.'

'He is always at least an hour early, hoping to snag time, the bastard.' Katsuo shook his head.' He will wait, there's whole plate with rice, fish and vegetables, just waiting for us over there.'

'You sound like you are looking forward to it, Kazekage.'

'Oh, I am. There is nothing like Suna's food after a long mission.'

He seemed in an elated mood for some reason. Lunch was a very pleasant affair. Katsuo had explained he had read a report on what exactly had happened. Apparently Gaara's unstable psyche had deduced that Charlie is him and that, for some reason helped him sleep without letting the Ichibi loose. All in all, it was extremely good news for him and the village as a whole. Tifa inwardly sighed in relief. She was worried she would've had to explain the real reason why Charlie managed to suppress Gaara's Bijuu. Furthermore, now she was certain that there was no threat of being thrown out. Charlie could hold her own, if anything of Baki's reports was of any consequence.

**888**

'Tifa-sempai, can we talk for a moment?'

'What is it?'

The blonde girl looked decidedly uncomfortable and nervous with what she had to say, but also there was a spark of determination in her eyes, and her hands were formed into fists.

'Do you have a relationship with my father?'

Tifa blinked. Definitely not what she had expected.

'What?'

'I said, do you have a relationship with my father? Are the two of you… together?'

Something jolted in her.

'No, we don't. Where did this shit come from all of a sudden?'

'I've seen the way the two of you look at each other.' Temari seemed to gather a bit more courage now that she had started. Somehow, Tifa knew that Kankuro was not too far away, listening to this. They've probably talked about it. After all, she was a good looking woman, of child-bearing age and a competent fighter to boot. It wasn't hard to imagine from where such thoughts had come into their minds.

'I know my father well enough. He's so busy being Kazekage, running the village and trying to mitigate Gaara all the time that he hasn't had the time to find, well, someone. After mum died I've never really seen him looking at anyone and then you showed up and…and I think he…'

'What? Spit it out.'

'He looks happy when you're around, even if you are always at each other's throats. Since you returned, I haven't really seen you arguing. Not like before.' For a moment her marine colored eyes looked down, almost sad looking. 'It would mean a lot if-if you'd try, you know.' Temari gulped, and by the faint sound of shuffling cloth, Tifa took it that Kankuro was holding his breath not too far away as well.

For a while, the soldier woman just stared at Katsuo's eldest.

'You want me to be your old man's girlfriend?' Tifa asked directly, making the otherwise very forward and confident girl to blush uncomfortably. She sighed and ran a hand through her short spiky hair, not unlike the Kazekage did when he had a lot on his place. 'Listen, kid, I won't make any promises. I'm not the type that's mushy and stuff but I will think about it, ok?'

'I-thank you.' Temari bowed and bolted soon after, leaving the silver-haired woman to her own devices.

That afternoon Tifa spent her time deep in thought, cleaning and maintaining all of her fire arms. Absent mindedly she took note of things like how her Bazooka needed a new coat of paint and how she needed to borrow some oil from Kankuro for two of her bigger babies. But most of her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the Kazekage.

He was an interesting man. Strong one at that with a defined sense of arrogant nobility and he also possessed this no nonsense attitude. As a leader, he was very competent and worked marvelously well with the little money he did indeed get as income from missions. He also had a council that was comprised of the smartest, strongest and wisest people in the village. It was definitely different from Konoha, as the council members were chosen not for their status as clan heads, but for their abilities and contributions to the village.

At first, the council was extremely wary of her and not completely agreeable with the Kazekage's decision to house her. As of the last two- three months, however, they were starting to see why Katsuo thought she was so valuable. A soldier, a trained woman in arts different than those of the Shinobi caste. A woman that could make both ninja and samurai run for their money and in possession of unique weapons that worked only for her. The child she had with her was only another leverage to force her to stay and work for the village. Her vastly improving ninja skills were also something that was working for her in the eyes of the Council.

A relationship with Katsuo, from the Council's point of view, would be incredibly profitable for the village. But that really didn't matter for her. She wasn't the type of person to give in to that kind of pressure. On another, but similar note, Temari had asked her and not her father. That had to count as something.

But no matter what way she looked at the situation, two things were certain: she looked forward to having an affair with the Kazekage, and she had absolutely no idea what to do, being the anti-romantic person that she was.

**End of Flashback**

**888**

Samui cracked her neck. Her still growing endowments were starting to become really uncomfortable, especially in long distance missions such as this one. After their interesting audience with the third Tsuchikage, even Karui had been less than enthusiastic about their following meetings.

**Flashback**

'So, your Raikage wishes to know if there had been some interesting chakra surge phenomena in Tsuchi no Kuni? Since we are allies all I have to say is that we had three separate cases which have been taken care of by my ninja.'

**End of Flashback**

With that, the audience was over, despite being forced to wait for two weeks in Iwagakure. At least they made incredibly delicious roast duck that would have Omoi dreaming about it for the months to come. Clearly the news was bad. Whoever had ended up in Tsuchi had been killed on sight for unauthorized trespassing as it was stated according to the International Ninja Guidelines, which were last revised after the end of the Third Secret Ninja World War. The next stop was Suna and the ridiculously long trek through the desert made even the ever stoic Samui grumpy. The poor Chuunin had suffered a mild sunburn and by the time they reached Suna, she was sporting an angry dark red tan that was begging for some Aloe Vera or any other Ninjaverse equivalent of that Earthen plant.

'State your business and identify yourself.' Said one of the ninja guards at the main gate.

'Samui, Omoi and Karui, Chuunin of Kumogakure, sent here on a mission by Raikage-sama.' Samui said professionally, though with much effort, given the state of her swollen lips. She handed the man their papers, and waited somewhat patiently to be permitted into Suna. Two hours later the three Kumo Chuunin found themselves being escorted to a nearby hotel with the instruction that the Kazekage would see them when he had the time. A week at most if the damn stuck up bastard was feeling in the mood to accept an audience with them.

A sad but true fact: if you weren't a high ranking ninja with an important message for the Kage, then you were not high on their damn priority list. The situation was especially cruel when you weren't in an Alliance with said village. You could either grit your teeth and wait, or you could simply forfeit the mission and not get paid in the end. In essence, their mission was to gather information of sorts and then A-sama would take measures for whatever that Summer girl had warned him about.

Omoi sighed and sucked on his lollypop. He looked at his watch. Samui was still in the bathroom doing whatever she could to calm her burning skin. At this rate he'd probably had to use the men's room on the first floor near the hotel's restaurant. Not that it really mattered, he was too tired to care about that. But really, what if hygiene wasn't as high as it was in the rooms? What if by some fluke he managed to contract some sort of unique to Suna disease and he ends up becoming a biological weapon of sorts, infecting all of Kumo unknowingly? And what if-

'Bathroom is free.' Samui stated and she got out, covered in a towel and burn salves. She moved tenderly towards the bed and sat on the edge, without any additional movements that would entice pain from the angry red skin. At least this time they'd use the waiting to help Samui recover from her burns. It wasn't surprising that Suna happened to be the best distributor of topical healing salves and antidotes in the entire Elemental Continent. Having bought medicine from the source also helped lower their expenses. It was a small consolation for this ridiculously tedious mission.

'Do you want me to put some ointment on your back?' Karui asked her fellow kunoichi.

'It would be greatly appreciated.' Samui nodded her thanks.

Omoi took that as his cue to occupy the bathroom.

**888**

'Temari, what's going on?' Tifa asked the girl, seeing her rushing and getting ready to go out.

'Three Kumo nin have come and father wants me to keep an eye on them.'

'You're going to be their escort?'

'Yes.'

Temari darted out of the house and down the street, towards where the hotel with the Kumo nin was.

Tifa was intrigued, but also the news brought a sense of caution. It was perfectly possible that during this part of the timeline there to have been some Suna-Kumo correspondence but she found it highly unlikely. If Kumo and Suna were preparing some sort of secret alliance, even if things failed, Katsuo would've told her. Her gut was telling her that their presence was somehow related to hers in Suna. She needed to investigate.

**888**

'Greetings, Kumo nin. My name is Temari and I was sent to show you around Sunagakure.' Temari had put up what she perceived as a friendly smile, but it looked more like a forced grimace than anything else.

Karui and Omoi shared a glance. She was the Kazekage's daughter.

'Where is your third team-mate?'

'Samui is recuperating from a mild sunburn. She is of naturally light complexion.' Omoi explained.

'Very well,' Temari sighed.' This way please.'

The three ninja went on down towards a nice restaurant under the watchful gaze of Gaara. The Jinchuuriki looked towards the other end of the street. Tifa was walking away from them, obviously seen enough to satisfy her curiosity. With a whirlwind of sand, he disappeared.

**888**

Tifa had no idea how she managed to reach the Kazekage residence without breaking her calm exterior. The moment she sat on her bed in her room she dragged her hands across her face and then her hair. Why were these three there exactly? She feared the answer would shake her position in the village and by proxy Charlie would end up in danger. She had to avoid that. But there was nothing she could do. Not right now. An idea was forming in her desperate mind. She'd use the Kazekage's infatuation with her to her benefit. But a great part of her expressed disgust just thinking about the possibility. It went against every single thing she stood up for. There was time and she needed to think this through with a cool head. She had to be rational, for Charlie's sake. It would always be for Charlie's sake. If push came to shove then she'd do anything to get Charlie out of here, away from Suna, to protect her. There was always a way. The last thing she wanted was to have her interrogated and tortured for something neither of them had any control over. These morbid thoughts squeezed on her chest and she found it hard to breathe. For the first time in over 20 years, Tifa felt moisture build up in her eyes.

**888**

Kumo ninja in Suna? Whatever for? Their relationship wasn't good by any stretch of the imagination. Their presence, while unexpected, was not something to cause major distress in Suna. At least Tifa reasoned so. After all, it was not uncommon to see foreign ninja. Damn that gut feeling of hers!

'Tifa-san, the Kazekage is waiting for you.' The secretary had called her. She was to dine with Katsuo today. It had been ten days since the Kumo nin had arrived in Suna and Charlie had told her with all the excitement of an impressionable girl how she met them and spent some time with them and Temari. At least Charlie didn't need to know yet what was going on. She was mostly oblivious and Gaara preoccupied as much of her time as she of his.

'Sit down Tifa; I have some interesting news for you to hear.' He stated. He seemed in a good mood so she thought that was a good sign. She tried to keep her breathing calm as not to show any of her nervousness. There was the slightest hint of a smile on his face.' A while back a few of our sensor ninja noticed a sort of unidentified chakra surge coming from an undisclosed location in the desert. Since we didn't find anything of consequence, I closed that case. Today, however, these Kumo nin came and asked me a very peculiar question. They wanted to know if we have had such surges and if we found anybody. That lead me to believe that this isn't a singular event. I looked over most of my data gathered via intelligence and noticed a pattern peaking three times in various locations all over the Elemental countries. I am thinking of sending you to Kumo on a prolonged mission-'Katsuo looked up at Tifa. She was sitting perfectly still and seemingly calm but there was something off about her. He could barely feel it but it was there. Fear.' Is everything alright, Tifa?'

She looked down to her hands that had gradually tightened into fists and started trembling. Perhaps he was showing her such trust for a reason. Perhaps, it would be okay this one time to risk it and trust someone like him. It didn't matter what would happen to her. Charlie was more important. She had always been the most important.

'I have something to tell you.' Her voice trembled, something so unlike her. Katsuo crossed his brows into a confused scowl. His good mood evaporated and was replaced by his usual seriousness. 'But before I start I want you to promise me that Charlie will be taken care of like a proper citizen of Suna. She had no fault in this and neither did I.'

'What are you trying to tell me, Tifa? Why are you afraid?' his voice was low and grave, his eyes never leaving hers, looking for the answers and fearing the worst.

'Please promise me.' She begged, her eyes glistening with the moisture of barely contained tears. She looked helpless and Katsuo recognized that to be the look of a mother who couldn't do anything for her child.

'I promise.' He said, before he even realized that he was going to do that anyways.

'Those chakra surges…I- Charlie and myself…We come from another world. A parallel universe in which this place, a world of Ninja and Chakra is nothing more than myths and children's stories. I don't know how we came to be here. She wasn't even with me at the time. But I remember waking up in the middle of the desert with several bags not too far away from us.' The tears finally started leaking. 'I didn't tell you this because I thought you would lock us up and experiment on us. But Charlie needed help and I did the best I could to make sure she would be provided for. I'd gladly die knowing she would be safe and happy. That is all I ask for.'

Katsuo's eyes were wide. He stood up from his seat behind the desk and walked up to her. Such a bizarre story, almost if not completely unbelievable. But she wasn't lying. She was telling him the truth because for her that was the only way to protect her precious person. She was the type that was ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of what she found to be worth it. Tifa took in a deep breath and stood up as well. She hastily wiped the tears in her eyes and then tried to gather up her usual cool demeanor. Her gaze hardened but her terror could not be wiped out. It was amazing for how long she managed to keep that secret. Four and a half months. And all for that little girl with the red hair and happy, large eyes.

'You are a Suna ninja now. And we take care of our own.' He finally spoke, his voice still barely above whisper but soft and caring. Tifa looked at him and blushed ever so slightly. No one had ever talked to her in such a soothing way and she felt that feeling again. The feeling of having her very own knight in shining armor.' And I will take care of you.'

Katsuo lifted his hand and hesitated for a moment or two and then swallowed. He gently caressed her wet cheek and wiped away the remaining moisture with a thumb. He could feel her face heating up beneath his skin. She seemed so unused to such contact. Without hesitation, this time, he pulled her gently into a hug, possible ambushes not even coming to mind. He could feel the shuddering movements of her sporadic breathing and her rapidly beating heart. He tightened his grip upon her as he felt her hands snake across his torso and hugging him back, fingers clutching his blue Kazekage robes.

He didn't know for how long they stayed like that, perfectly silent but just gripping each other tightly. It felt amazing to finally have her in his arms. He also felt apprehensive to do anything else. He felt as if the moment he'd try to kiss her she would run away. It was a fool's fear. He was Kazekage, after all. But in spite of that he still felt that way.

'That girl.' Tifa suddenly started speaking. 'Sylvia from Sound. She said Orochimaru summoned us. Some sort of experiment. Stay away from that snake, or he will be the end of you!' _And now I realize that I don't want to lose you._

Katsuo pulled slightly away and locked his gaze with hers. He knew he had to act now or he may lose the moment.

'We can talk about that later. You are part of Suna now. You and Charlie. And I know you are living with me right now but I want you to live _with _me. I want you to continue to be that pillar of support that has kept my household together these past months.' The Kazekage lowered his head towards her and his lips almost touched hers.' Do you understand me? I want us to be together, as we should've been from the start.' He breathed his last words and oh so tenderly pressed his lips to hers. Tifa shuddered and then stilled, but did not pull away. She wanted this, future be damned. She wanted him to live and keep everything in check, just like he had been doing ever since he became Kazekage. Hesitantly and with no little part inexperience she returned his kiss. His lips twitched slightly at that and a sigh of relief parted from them.

Slowly, as they kept giving each other tender, butterfly kisses, she moved her hands from his back and onto his chest and then snaked them around his neck and up into his hair, enjoying the sensation of his spiky hair. Yet again Katsuo pulled her closer and squeezed her tight into his chest, enticing a shuddery breath from her. Some fifteen to 20 minutes later they pulled apart and gazed into each other's eyes. Hers were wanting and his bore a special brand of mischief and dark desire. He swiftly pulled her into a deep and passionate kiss.

At some point the secretary outside his office heard the distinct click of the lock. She smiled knowingly and proceeded cancelling the Kazekage's meetings for the day. Then, she pulled out a calendar and triumphantly marked the date of the occasion. She had, after all, managed to guess the day in which their Kazekage would finally crack and throw away that proverbial celibacy veil. Too bad her other poll, about when he'd finally get together with the silver-haired Amazon, was due another week. Well, she couldn't win them all.

_**AN: I can't believe I just wrote this down. It took me forever and I was like 50-50 about whether they'd get together or not. In the end I decided that man deserved, pardon for the expression, some pussy. While I will not be writing anything too graphic, I don't think this story is one to focus on things like that. It's more about the butterfly effect of their presence. On a side note Happy Birthday, SilverMononoke! Sorry for not adding anything Summer related, but I have a plan of sorts to follow and so I decided to post this chapter today in your honor! Have a happy and delightful Party and enjoy yourself. To the rest of my readers here is an interesting poll:**_

_**WHO DO YOU WANT ROSE TO END UP WITH?:**_

_**-Kakashi**_

_**-Leopold**_

_**-Iruka**_

_**-Izumo or Kotetsu**_

_**-Other (please specify!)**_

_**I can't wait to see what you people with come up with!**_

_**Next chapter we will be back in Rain, where a certain Blonde will have a drama queen moment and quote Hamlet.**_


	54. Two Dogs and a Bone, Mist and a Stone

_**A/N: After another long bout of not updating, I think it is high-time I presented you guys with the intense chapter 54. But before you do that, I'd like to point out that I've got several new stories up on my profile, most notably **_Ghosts in the Past _**and **_ Team Cannon Fodder _**. I would be very happy if you guys gave them a look as I would be writing those two stories alongside this one. Also, I've uploaded a little crossover, called **__Hinata the Dragonborn__**. Be sure to check it out, people seem to like it.**_

_**But back to Moons of Red! This chapter will contain the final additions of OC's, two of which belong to Grocamol and UZUMAKI LEGEND. The third is the other Helen, which I think I've mentioned at least a thousand times. Or maybe I havent. Oh well. Anyways, this chapter will be a bit different and you will see what I mean. So, enjoy chapter 54!**_

_**Edit: I'd like to apologize for the fact that the story changes fonts several times. For some reason I cannot fix this. I think it happened because I switched from Microsoft office word to Open Office, from Windows 7 on one PC to Windows 8 on another.**_

_**Edit 2: After a very long battle with Breast Cancer, my cat Nelly Edelvine, Blue Persian of 14 died at 1:52 AM 11**__**th**__** April. I was really distraught. I think that it will take time before I can write happy and exciting stuff again.**_

**Chapter 54**

_We are trav'ling in the footsteps_

_Of those who've gone before,_

_And we'll all be reunited,_

_On a new and sunlit shore,_

Fia sang quietly, while preparing breakfast. Her mood was exponentially better than yesterday's bitter disappointment at her own failiure to create a _nice telescope_. It wasn't her fault either. Pein simply refused to put aside resources for something like that. This morning Fia was nice and fresh and she tried to shrug off his, in her opinion, silly decision. After all, they had some simple looking spying lens and stuff, but nothing like her fancy schmancy blueprints of a _nice telescope,_ capable of looking at the moon with great detail. Then again, Fia reasoned, Pein had been busy, preparing for his speech during the Lunar Eclipse. And what a speach it was.

_Oh, when the saints go marching in_

_Oh, when the saints go marching in_

_Lord, how I want to be in that number_

_When the saints go marching in_

The blonde expertly flipped the thin pancake and cracked her stiff neck. A small smile played on her lips as she sang. Pein had been glorious last night, during the eclipse. He literally parted the heavens to reveal the Red Moon to the populace and even she, who was used to his godly presence by now, gasped at how amazing that looked. One could literally feel the power radiating from him. Her heart had skipped a beat when he simply rose into the sky, with Konan by his side. God and His Angel. That was what the locals called them. And the people had cheered, happy and awestruck at the same time.

_And when the sun refuse to shine_

_And when the sun refuse to shine_

_Lord, how I want to be in that number_

_When the sun refuse to shine_

And that glorious red moon, right in the middle of the sky. It was not like Earth's moon. Far from it. It was bigger and had different geography on its surface and the stars were also different from the constellations back at home. In this strange world, there were very few things which she had decided to keep to herself as knowledge. It was unnecessary to freak out MJ and L-chan with the fact that this was a Solar system with two terrestrial planets and a single gas giant. There wasn't much on them, but she wondered if Pein would ever agree to use his gravity based ability to send a probe to the local moon. His skills could make NASA jealous. Maybe she should get working on a probe or some sort of satelite for him, under the pretence that it would make radio coverage times easier. But then again people in the ninja world weren't practical. They didn't have _her _vision. They had no idea how _nice telescopes _were. Fia shook her head. The only thing Pein would see, as a typical ninja, would be the usefulness in spying the other countries. Who cared if that other terrestrial planet was also in the green belt that suggested possible life that could be found? Oh, and that planet had two moons. _**(A/N: Hinata the Dragonborn reference! Wink-wink Nudge-nudge)**_

_And when the moon turns red with blood_

_And when the moon turns red with blood_

_Lord, how I want to be in that number_

_When the moon turns red with blood_

Fia iddly wondered how was life in the West. Surely she'd have time at some point to figure that out as well. She imagined some sort of Renaissance or Pre-Renaissance world with modern elements in it. Or maybe even kingdoms with various states of development. Maybe even a Steampunk country with sentient robots! That were Steampunk! Her blue eyes sparkled at the thought.

The door to her appartment was opened and then closed. Fia stopped singing and turned to find MJ ready for today's training session. The Black-haired girl gave Fia a disapproving glance. The blonde was only wearing panties and what looked like a comfortable gray cotton camisole. Oh and no bra.

'We'll be late if you don't get dressed in five minutes.' MJ stated, as she took out jam and some other assorted yummies from the fridge and started rolling up the thin pancakes.

'I'm almost done with the pancake mix.' the blonde stated as she stirred the small amount of pancake mix left at the bottom of the bowl.

'It will not be my fault if we are late. Itachi hates it when we are late.' Michael stated between pancake bites.

'Sounds more like Sasori-Danna to me. Last pancake and I'll go get dressed.'

There was a polite knock on the door.

'I'll get it!' Fia stated enthusiastically and opened the door to reveal the one and only Uchiha Itachi. His deadpan expression glanced at her only for a moment before his brows creased slightly.

'Go get dressed.' he ordered and entered the appartment, not looking at her at all.

'Sheesh, people are sure impolite this morning. Not one hello Fiona, how are you Fiona, how nice of you to cook breakfast for us Fiona. Youth these days!' She continued on with her little rant well into her bedroom.

MJ rolled her eyes at the blonde's antics and continued eating pancakes, with the Missing-nin Uchiha next to her, doing exactly the same.

'Jam?' She offered, expertly surpressing the urge to blush prettily by his proximity.

'Thank you.' he nodded and took the jar from her hands.

MJ noted how his pale fingers felt cold, dry and calloused, but still managed to make her heart skip a beat. They ate breakfast in silence and Rose joined them not a few minutes later. Finally, Fiona emerged from her bedroom, dressed in a sports bra and tight shorts, both black with single, symmetrical orange stripes. She even had black ninja sandals on her feet. Rose and MJ's attires werent much different. Rose opted for a nice hoodie top as well, in case it would get cold and MJ wore knee lenght tight pants with Kunai holsters on both legs. She also wore a sports bra but with a simple gray shirt on top.

While MJ, Itachi and Rose had eaten like civilized people, Fia merely shoved several pancakes one right after the other and demanded to get going. Her hair was down but she had a hair band on her left wrist, indicating that she had thought of something to tame her hair. Today they were going to do water walking, and Itachi had warned Fia not to try and see if she could drown herself.

The stroll to their usual training grounds was a pleasant affair. The sky was still gray with the night's rain and the ground was exuding warmth and moisture. Everything glistened and even though it was slightly chilly, it was still quite comfortable. A great way to really wake up in the morning.

'Aren't you cold?' MJ finally asked the blonde, who seemed content with grinning like an idiot for some reason. Why wouldn't she be? She was learning Water Walking today.

'I have my hair down, so it's okay.' Fia stated, snaking a hand through her long mane. It had grown a lot in the last six months, MJ noted. And so had her hair and Rose's.

'Having hair that long is not practical for a kunoichi.' Itachi stated in his usual soft monotone.

'You're such a hypocrite some times, Itachi-sempai!' Fia exclaimed immediately, earning a silent, almost non-existent sigh from the stoic Uchiha.'You have long hair yourself and look at you! It's like you don't know what a comb is.' MJ was sure she saw a tick for a milisecond there.' Sure your hair is nice and silky and that herbal shampoo you use is really awesome and stuff. But please! Kind sir! I beg you! Spend more than once a week to tie up your hair! Please!'

At this point she tried to pull on Itachi's hair tie in order to fix his hair – a feat that not even Rose, who had a strict good hair policy, would dare do. The Uchiha grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an unplesant hold, all the while glaring at her with Sharingan active and spinning wildly. It wasn't that he hadn't expected for her to insult him in some way. In fact, his dear mother used to say absolutely the same thing but in a far less derogatory way.

'Aw, c'mon 'tachi-sensei! Let me fix your hair. In fact! Let MJ fix your hair! She makes the best braids!Period!'

There was another, more visible tick. Itachi let go of the blond who spent no time to rub her wrist and throw him a quick glare (and pout) of her own his way.

'Ano, Itachi-sempai.' MJ started quietly, her heart suddenly in her throat for daring to do this. 'She's right. I can help you settle your hair. You just need a bit of a conditioner and some crystals to soften it so it doesn't stand up so much.'

Itachi looked at MJ who wisely chose that moment to look down at her feet. He then turned to look at the tall red headed woman. Inwardly, he sighed, but on the outside he did not react. He was ganged up by all three of them to get his hair _fixed, _as they called it. As far as he was concerned his hair was perfectly fine.

The dark-haired girl next to him shuffled and he glanced at her. The girl was uncomfortable in his presence and personally he paid that fact no heed. When he was not in her presence, she acted in a different, less shy but still quiet manner. There was a certain air of superiority about her, the type of arrogance he had observed in those of noble birth. She was elegant and fluid, cool and gentle. A lot like water. She liked to be in control of her own emotions, similar to many serious ninja he had met throughout his life.

In all honesty, of the three of them, he liked her best. She was unobtrusive and polite but of sharp wit and sharper tongue. She showed him respect and proved to be somewhat of a challenge in their wanted her to exceed. He wanted her to develop the use of her chakra. It would be a sad and tragic waste of such potential. Even though he'd never say it out loud, in the short time he had sparred with her this far, he had gained several new completely different styles of Martial Arts in his arsenal.

'-so I thought you can wrap it up around here and then add a flower or some jewel over here. And then you can twist this other braid like this-' The blonde had kept talking about hairstyles all the way to their training grounds, pulling at locks of her hair and animately displaying what she wanted of Michael. The dark-haired girl was listening to her and occasionally nodding her head. He noticed that she had the faintest of smiles playing on her lips. Rose added her two cents occasionally and even he was pulled into their weird, girlish conversation. In times like these, he felt even more disgusted with himself than usual.

**888**

'Water Walking! Water Walking! Water Walking! Walking on Waaaaater! On H2O! On Wasser! I'm gonna pull a Jeeeesuuuus! Skipping in the water like a BG Priest, trolling all the noobs-'

'You can shut up any time you want.' MJ stated calmly.'No, really. You really want to shut up. Like, right now.'

'-and I got no feathers!-'

MJ sighed, while Itachi tried figuring out what the presence of feathers had to do with the water walking exercise.

'-and I put my hands up in the air and I say- UMPH!' Fia tripped on MJ's extended foot.

The Keats girl smiled contentedly. Finally some peace and quiet.

'Bleh! MJ, that wasn't nice!'

'Neither was your stupid song.'

'Meh. Whatever. Hey! 'tachi-senseeeeeei! Teach meeeeee!' she whined, skipping over to the man who gave her a withering glare which she promptly ignored. The blond girl was a genius and frighteningly manipulative at times. But right now she was over-excited and that showed in her bouts of hyper-activity. He wondered if she'd ever put that much energy in her physical training as she did in showing her happiness. He was an elite ninja and he had no desire to put up with her obnoxious behavior.

Some three hours later found them near the bank of the small lake, with Itachi giving the blonde pointers on how to control her chakra flow. In MJ's opinion it was kind of pointless.

'Fiona-san, for the last time, your technique is wrong.'Itachi intoned softly, careful not to show his aggravation with the Orange thing.

'But I'm perfectly fine. And I'm standing on the water and what not!'

'You are not supposed to use enough chakra to have a visible to the naked eye blue haze around your feet.' the Uchiha did not feel the need to add that she should've been out cold hours ago by the sheer amount of chakra she was burning.

Similar thoughts were on the mind on the only present red-head. Rose sighed. She wondered what would happen if Fia decided to concentrate as much chakra as possible into a single point and then unleash it like a supernova. She was certain that at least every single chakra sensor on the continent would be aware of her presence with that kind of a chakra pulse. Sadly enough, the greatest problem of huge chakra pools was chakra control. She herself wasn't a powerhouse like Fiona but being the bearer of Rinnegan made things much more simpler. And she was working on getting to that powerhouse point.

'But it works! Why change it?'

The only sensible reason for Fia to be complaining at the moment was to rile up Itachi, something she just loved to do in a very subtle fashion... or as obviously as possible. Neither MJ nor Rose had the deathwish to poke the infamous clanslayer with the proverbial hot fireplace poker. So far the man was stoically witholding any sort of murderous urges, much to MJ's astonishment. There were a few Sharingan induced slumbers along the way, but so far everything was harmless. Michael iddly wondered how far would Fia go to get the man to lose his cool and toss a Mangekyo her way.

At that moment the blonde flared her chakra even further, creating small vortexes on the water surface. There was even a wind torrent about them that blew at their bangs.

'Check this out! 'tachi-senseeeeeeei! I'm hover-Urk!'

**SPLASH**

The blonde lost her delicate footing on the water surface, causing her to dramatically flail into the water, feet pointed at them, resulting in a massive spray of water and algae. In the silent span of three seconds, the thought to strangle Fiona passed their heads. Then she got out of the water, hunched forward, looking just as disgusted from the algae as MJ, who was literally shivering and frantically wiping off the slick matter. It took a few more moments before Fia burst out laughing.

''tachi-sensei! You look like a -like a- a- wet noodle! Bwahahaha!' she fell on the ground, wiping not so imaginary tears from her face, though it was hard to tell as she was wet anyways.

'Now that we know for sure you have Wind Affinity, you may try to do the normal excersize. If you try to fool around again, I will personally take you to Leader-sama and it will not be a pleasant encounter.' Itachi said calmly, all the while rinsing water from his hair. His Sharingan was glowing in an ominous red color, however, and Fia decided that it would be nice to lay off the shenanigans for a while. For now. But that decision only came after the thought that any encounter with Leader-sama was a pleasant one. It was only so much that she could do to supress that slightly perverted and maniacal grin that threatened to spread on her face, along with a not very girly form of disturbing chuckling.

Once more, the blonde balanced herself on the surface of the water and examined her surroundings and the effect of her bastardized water walking technique upon her immediate environment. Right about now the effort didn't lie in expelling the chakra but maintaining a steady flow to keep her afloat. Her bare feet were about an inch and a half above the water itself with socks of palpable blue chakra surrounding them and disturbing the water beneath her. Fia frowned. The less the water surface was disturbed, the easier it would be to water walk. But, water friction aside, she wanted to remove the visibility of her chakra padding. She was using way too much, even if it felt like it was the bare minimum. So far making one or two small steps was her limit before losing her footing. It was like walking on ice but even more slippery than that. Tree walking was times easier and she felt that familiar frustration gnawing at her focus. And then there was Rose, whose Rinnegan induced superhuman chakra control was something one'd think would have been splurted out of a story book.

Fia laughed and yet again lost her footing but this time she face-planted forward, spraying water and algae behind her. As she pulled herself up, all her companions watching her, the blond girl continued to laugh to herself. It was exactly like a story book, because they were de facto in one. And their presence was so unnatural to begin with, that she had an inkling that there was something else going on that just having growing chakra cores or whatever Sasori and Pein were talking about. It took her a while to regain her composure. Itachi was occasionally glancing at her, weariness permeating his form, despite his cool exterior. Day after day, the Uchiha convinced himself more and more that there was something utterly psychologically wrong with that girl. The way she reacted to certain things, her utter disregard to certain rules or orders. There was a reason why he disliked her so much. She reminded him somewhat of Tobi. And Tobi was a very dangerous man, whether his claims that he was Uchiha Madara were true or not.

As MJ prepared another swift attack on him, he parried effortlessly, his Sharingan spining slowly, taking into account even the minute details of her moves. The Michael girl, as he had noted on multiple occasions, was calm and collected, and probably the best non-ninja fighter he had ever faced to this day. What she lacked in mass and brute force, she compensated with speed, agility and precision. She knew the capabilities of her body well, too well, in fact. She lacked chakra conditioning- something that he had noted on multiple occasions as well. There was a reason ninja were trained and conditioned from wee toddlers. Michael had lacked that conditioning and she had grown up used to using her momentum and the rules of mechanics to her advantage when fighting.

Using chakra when fighting in a purely physical way was a whole other matter. Physics were by-passed due to the amount of potential energy chakra created. So Itachi did what he had to do. He used his Sharingan and pushed the black-haired girl to her limits, observing the spikes of her chakra every now and then. But he could not push her enough. He could not push her beyond that proverbial barrier that inhibited the conscious use of her chakra. He did not know what exactly was needed to actually unleash that chakra within her. Her up-comming mission would provide a chance, if they were lucky, to let her exercise her physical ability on the field and not in a controlled environment. Bandits were not unheard of in these parts of the continent and there was a minute hope within Itachi that they'd encounter a group of outlaws or even some wild animals.

The Uchiha pushed MJ out of his reach and sent her almost flying backwards with barely an inkling of chakra. The girl's expression never wavered from its concentration as she used her momentum to spring herself back into a standing, defensive position without scraping across the ground. Perhaps he even admired that dedication and seriousness in her. It was a rare sight, even back in his Konoha days, before he had joined ANBU.

Despite visibly being exhausted, MJ prepared herself once more to be on the offensive as she sprung herself forward, towards the Uchiha. Having quickly learned her lesson from previous training sessions (and from watching the anime and reading the manga), Michael trained her eyes upon his chest, arms and legs, not letting her eyes wander any higher than necessary. The Sharingan was a tricky weapon to counter. Itachi probably had noted the ease with which she had learned to avoid his gaze during battle. Not that it helped much, but at least she was able to counter the majority of the simple, minor Genjutsu he kept casting, trying to catch her off-guard in some way.

On a side note, Itachi had become painfully aware of their high resistance to most forms of Genjutsu ranking from D to B, which on itself was unheard of within non-ninja. Either they were very sensitive to the minute flows of chakra and the energies of the natural kind, or they were ridiculously observant. In the end, he had decided it was a little bit of both, probably with some of their own personal flare mixed in.

'Fia, you can't skate on the water.' Rose sighed as said blonde yet again tried to stand on the surface of the lake, her legs shaking slightly with the effort to stay afloat. "The very mechanics of the exercise root you to the adjacent water particles, distributing your weight equally within a certain area of effect- "

"Do my feet look like they're touching the water, L-chan?" Fiona yelled back with slight aggravation as she was starting to tire from trying not to do a split then and there.

"For the last time, Fiona, you are doing it wrong." Rose sighed as she gingerly approached the blonde, showing off the proper execution of water walking. There were barely any ripples caused by her light steps and the blonde idly wondered if she'd get to that level of expertise any time soon. Obviously not, she huffed and looked down at her own two feet. Her thighs were feeling the burn from her effort and the blue haze around her feet oddly reminded her of hovercrafts.

Fia looked back at where MJ and Itachi were sparring, her dark-haired friend holding up admirably against the ninja monstrosity that was the Uchiha. She then looked at Rose who was looking expectantly at her. For a moment, the world around her seemingly stood still. She could practically hear the rushing of her own blood within her blood vessels and the beating of her heart. Her chakra movement was not unlike the way her blood flowed around her body. Feeling as stubborn as ever, and eager to prove her improvised method of Water Walking just as good as the original, the blonde started concentrating on the energies within.

"Fia?" Rose blinked as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand. Small currents of wind surrounded Fiona as the water rippled around her.

Taking a deep breath and donning a cheeky grin on her face, she slowly began unleashing a steady current of chakra down her feet, creating a gentle vortex of wind about her form. The blue haze beneath her intensified and she found herself hovering not just barely above the surface of the water, but a stable gap of at least five centimeters.

"This…will…work." Fia uttered with quite the effort and then, very, very carefully moved one foot before the other. Her entire body tensed with the effort of keeping the chakra construct about her stable. Again, she slid one foot before the other and then tried to push herself as if on ice.

For a second there she slipped but managed to keep her balance. A bit out of breath, she gave herself a few moments and then, as if by some invisible force, she glided forward.

"I don't know what to think if by the end of the day neither of us catches pneumonia." Rose sighed and shook her head. The red headed woman took a few steps closer to her blond companion and tried to observe her progress. The unmistakable look of glee was radiating from her face as she prepared another, larger burst of chakra. Rose's eyes widened.

"Fia! No!" L-chan yelled out but it was too late. The sense of dread was overwhelming as million ways for this experiment to end badly crossed her mind. Bad things happened, especially when Fiona tended to go overboard when over-excited.

A powerful gust of wind pushed her away as Fia's form dashed ahead upon the surface of the water.

"Damn it." Rose swore under her breath as she once again regained her footing on the lake. "Uchiha-san!"

Naturally, Itachi expected something of the sort to happen, even if he had hoped, deep down inside his little, supposedly black, heart, that today they'd have at least something resembling normalcy going on. With no such luck, he abandoned his spar with MJ, who then deigned to observe her blond friend's progress towards the middle of the lake. The black-haired girl was torn between groaning in exasperation and grimacing with the thought of how this would end painfully, no matter how Itachi or any of them approached the situation. There was, naturally, no surprise on her face. After all, it was almost expected Fia to be an ass when a new toy or something even slightly resembling entertainment was presented before her.

It had happened before, and MJ knew she'd safely bet her entire inheritance that it would happen again. She still remembered that time a few years ago, when Fiona had spontaneously decided to become Paris' first masked superhero. Naturally, the innovation of that particular aspiration lasted about a week, in which she prepared everything ranging from how her costume would look, to the assortment of super-like gadgets she'd use to take hold of the bad guys and general social delinquents. But what her blond friend hadn't prepared for, was the long periods of waiting in between crime busting. It all ended rather anti-climatically, after only a single night on the prowl for villainy. After not a single burglar or vagabond deigned to show their faces to be smitten by her mightiness, Fiona declared this particular phase in her life over and things sort of went back to normal again. As normal as they could get with the members of the AFC. All MJ could comment about that particular indulgence was that she was glad nothing had happened at all. She wouldn't live down the embarrassment of Fiona making her fancies that public to the world. The world wasn't ready to handle her, not yet, at least. With a deep, tired and resigned sigh Michael did the only thing she could do at the moment. So, she sat down on a nearby boulder and watched how things would resolve.

In the meantime, Fiona would've been cackling like a madwoman, had she the time to stop herself and do so. She was feeling the strain of exerting so much chakra about her, but the rush of adrenaline kept her pumping more and more, constantly increasing her velocity. Now, not only her legs, but also her torso and arms were exhuming chakra currents, covering a decidedly large area of effect. While quite the chakra-hungry effort, it also helped her stabilize her current position. All she had to do was lean slightly to one side or the other to take a turn. It was almost like water skiing.

"Fiona!" came through the slightly muffled by the winds yell of the one and only Uchiha Itachi.

"Eep!" shrieked the blonde as pure terror spread on her face. She could practically hear the scowl that had probably spread on his face. She wasn't stupid enough to actually turn around and check. One glimpse of his Sharingan and she'd be out like a light. She was pretty much having the time of her life and no way in hell would she let one measly little Clan Slayer with eyes of gloom and doom stop her! Her pride wouldn't allow it! That and if she stopped right now, she was pretty certain she'd crash into the water with at least 65 kilometers per hour, given how fast she was zooming by trees and the like. Fiona was not ready for that ultimate face-plant. A slight tingling sensation jolted down her spine and she immediately knew that Itachi was gaining on her. With another terrified shriek, coated with adrenaline and her over-all excitement, she forced even more chakra through her body. Said burst propelled her forward with such an intensity that the force of impact created a large wave behind her. For a few seconds it deterred the Uchiha, but he himself forced more chakra down his feet and quickly cut down the distance between them. But the closer he came, the harder it was to remain upon the surface of the water. The violent wind currents surrounding her form not only kept her above the surface, but also created a something of a makeshift cocoon of lashing winds.

Obviously unaware of the danger she currently presented, Itachi came to the conclusion that it would be safer to use a water jutsu or something of the sort to stop her. Getting too close would be like throwing himself into a shredder. He'd have a lengthy lecture prepared for her once he caught her and forced her to stop with this nonsense. A wall of water rose at his command, exerting a large amount of his reserves just to keep it stable enough and yet still liquid enough not to turn his wayward blonde menace of a temporary student into a currently less orange than usual splat. Though, he thought with somewhat of an amused streak, given her blonde hair and the blood that would pour out of her jumbled up splat of a body, it might slightly resemble her usual orange, if one would squint hard enough, of course.

Itachi hn-ed, as he mentally shook himself of that ridiculous notion of a thought. It almost resembled something the blonde would say or think about. With a bit of annoyance mixed in with the urgency to stop Fiona, Itachi expertly threw out his prepared trap, and with one final yelp from the girl, he carefully, but swiftly, enveloped her in his watery chakra construct. For a moment all was quiet and still, save for the rushing sounds of the water controlled by him. An intense pulse of chakra was the only preemptive warning he got as his otherwise effective water trap blew up, sending water flying in all directions in an at least 50 meter radius. And there, in the middle of it all, with large blue eyes like a deer's caught in the headlights of a car, was Fiona, gasping and flaying frantically in the water.

With Sharingan spinning menacingly, Itachi observed his surroundings, trying to determine if there was any actual collateral damage done to the training area. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to pay for anything out of his own pockets, as the area was merely drained to the core in water. The Uchiha sighed ever so slightly and resisted the urge to grimace at what seemed to be a bruise the size of a small plate forming on one of his sides. What in the name of Kami was that girl thinking? Then he nearly found himself startled with the simplicity of the answer: she simply hadn't been thinking. With a single swift movement, Itachi pulled the now frightened into submission girl out of the water and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The usually rambunctious girl was now eerily silent for one reason alone, or maybe two. First, she had probably gone over-board again. And he would be correct about that. And, second, one Uchiha Itachi was definitely not amused.

Not that far away from the banks of the lake was MJ, who was rinsing water out of her hair in a resigned fashion. Really, the whole ordeal, while lasting probably less than 30 seconds in its entirety, left her feeling utterly resigned and not a small amount of tired. Sometimes she wondered why she put up with it and sometimes she reminded herself that there wasn't a person as loyal and as dedicated a friend as her best friend Fiona. Now, however, the only thought running through her mind revolved around Itachi's verdict. Michael looked at Rose, who was approaching her with a tell-tale passive look on her face. In a typically lawyer-like fashion, she'd try to salvage the situation as best as possible. And the situation did not look good at all. Despite their somewhat good performance most of the time, MJ reasoned as the realist in their party of three, their behavior was less than stellar. And she wasn't even going to single out Fiona on it either. By not acting to prematurely stop any bubbling plans of chaos, Rose and herself just as easily could be found at fault for anything that would arise or has arisen in the past as an undesirable situation.

The black-haired girl idly wondered if today they hadn't gone too far. She resisted the urge to gulp as Itachi approached. His Sharingan was easily spotted, what with its glaringly red color and Itachi's generally very pale complexion. His lower jaw seemed clenched and MJ could easily recognize a minute scowl marring his features. Fiona was hanging almost limp on his shoulder, her hands tucked close to her chest and blue eyes as wide as saucers. At least the blonde looked genuinely terrified, which, MJ reasoned, might somewhat help their cause of getting off the hook.

But then again, right now things looked absurdly ridiculous. All of them were drenched from head to toe, covered in various amounts of algae, and Itachi's shirt was even sporting a sizeable rip on the front. Michael suppressed a shudder as she realized she could see a part of what seemed to be a forming bruise of a decent size. In any other situation, she would've laughed at the notion that something like this would ever happen but since it happened, she was pretty sure laughing and smiling wouldn't even be present on her agenda for the moment.

Without saying a word, Itachi lowered Fiona until she was standing on her own two feet. After a few seconds, however, she wavered and it was Rose that caught her as she slumped on her knees.

"Uhm… my legs can't hold me." She mumbled timidly as she leaned her weight onto Rose. The red head sighed and rubbed her eyes. Exasperation was palpable in the air to an almost unbearable point.

For a few more moments Itachi was completely silent, simply watching intently, that barely visible scowl still on his face. Fia looked unusually out of it and Michael instinctively reached to touch her arm. She felt icy cold to the touch and her fingers looked oddly pale. In the meantime the blonde's face was quite flushed and, under the same impulse, she brushed her palm against her cheek to find it burning.

Itachi continued to observe them for a while longer, taking note of how, despite the nasty situation that had transpired, they still stuck with each other. Finally, after what seemed forever for the three, he turned off his Sharingan with a blink of his eyes and exhaled, releasing some of the tension that had built up.

"This is why learning new jutsu must always be supervised." He finally said in his calm, soft voice. He brushed his knuckles against Fia's forehead and sighed. "This is a typical case of severe chakra exhaustion. Remember the symptoms. The body takes the extremely low levels of chakra as a threat and refocuses blood flow from non-major parts of the body like the limbs towards the major organs. Despite that you will find Fiona-san to be with low blood pressure, shallower pulse and the telltale state of acute confusion – a delirium that can rapidly evolve into a state of disorientation."

Itachi then knelt beside the blonde and extended one finger in front of her face.

"Fiona-san, I want you to follow my finger with your eyes."

The girl managed to do so only for so long before closing her eyes, trying to shake away the forming vertigo. Finally, the Uchiha simply pulled out a canteen and handed it to MJ.

"Make sure she drinks most of it before you head back to your apartments." He instructed as he stood up. "Fiona-san would be tired and she would need to sleep off these effects. I will speak more of this tomorrow morning."

With that, Itachi body flickered out of their sights. For a moment, neither MJ nor Rose spoke, after which MJ handed the canteen to L-chan and opted to gather their things before heading back. On the way back they were slower than usual, as Rose had Fia on her back, now quite rapidly asleep, even during a piggy-back ride. Neither of the two women commented on Fia's behavior. It was something that they had come to expect and rarely did they find themselves in a situation where the blonde's antics would actually surprise them. Horror and embarrassment were another matter altogether. And yet, MJ felt the nagging feeling that she was missing something very important from the entire ordeal.

As they entered the apartment, they relieved themselves of the wet clothing and one by one perused Fia's bathroom to take a shower. Since Fia was practically catatonic, they opted a simple change of clothing for her, after which they tucked her into her bed, a bottle of water and a glass being left on the night stand next to the blonde.

The afternoon was surprisingly quiet without the presence of their blonde friend. Even so, the girls opted to use that time to talk among themselves, drink some tea, order food (lest they would poison themselves by cooking) and watch some TV. At some point Hidan came by, expecting to find something to eat, but after their explanation of Fia's condition he merely shrugged and went by his way. He did however take a look at the blonde, just to be on the safe side.

"Chakra exhaustion has to be the biggest bitch fuck to go through, you can be stuck doing nothing for days on end cus everything hurts big fucking time. Man, the next few days are gonna suck for her."

As Hidan left, Rose and MJ shared a knowing look. They'd have to speak with Fia, just in case. If there was a chance the Jashinist had taken interest into his fellow loudmouth, then chances were that would not end well for said blonde. Getting Kakuzu to keep a tighter leash on his partner was also an acceptable course of action. Despite being a bloodthirsty, greedy old bastard, Kakuzu also happened to be a rather pleasant and intelligent company, and most of all – a reasonable person. Well, most of the time, when he was not having problems managing his anger, to be honest. But he had Hidan handy, when he felt like ripping things apart. Thank Kishimoto for small miracles and all that jazz.

"I think I know why Fia..." MJ started quietly at some point of the afternoon. Rose looked at her expectantly. " Remember Australia?"

The pale girl's voice was barely the ghost of a whisper, almost as if afraid to mention the incident lest it repeated itself.

"You weren't there but when _it _happened..."

"When she threw herself at the crocodile?"

" Yeah..."

Rose's eyes widened in realization and not a word was spoken further on the subject. Post traumatic shock was something that the blonde had supposedly overcome. Then again Fia rarely spoke of things or expressed things that might make her look weak in some way. She was one whose philosophy in life was that the best defense was a good offense.

Fia cracked a groggy eye open sometime after 8 pm and slowly pulled herself into a sitting position. She felt ridiculously tired, but other than that she was fine. Her mind felt still half asleep as she dragged herself slowly towards the kitchen, hunger overriding most of her other senses for the time being. There was a decidedly irresistible smell of beef teriyaki rolling out of her kitchen and she intended to devour it as soon as possible.

"Oh, Fia, you're awake." MJ blinked, expecting said blonde to be out of it at least till the morning. While Fiona's ridiculous zest was something that seemingly came out from stories and legends, the black-haired girl was certain that even she'd take some time to sleep off the chakra exhaustion. But apparently she had been wrong. As soon as the delivery man arrived with their orders, beef teriyaki being one of the dishes, Fiona had hatched from her bed and had determinately dragged her feet towards her target, more or less like a zombie.

As Rose came back from the bathroom, all she could do was blink, as she saw Fiona completely ignoring MJ, a look of upmost obsessed concentration on her face, eyes never leaving the food before her. The blonde sat down and opened one of the boxes. Saliva threatened to drool down her chin as she took in the potent scents and aromas of the large serving of Beef Teriyaki. For a part of a second, Rose's hairs on the back of her neck raised, as if she was hit by a wave of killer intent. But as soon as the notion came, it was already gone, and with a guttural growl Fia assaulted the beef, completely ignoring the look of utter horror on MJ's face.

"Ah, Fia, maybe we should-" MJ tried to suggest bringing out some dishes to serve everybody (not that she would touch the beef after what she had just seen), but the words died in her throat, as two glaring eyes, like twin blue suns, suddenly turned in her direction and stared her down like an angry Grizzly Bear.

"Mine." She growled, hackles raised and Teriyaki sauce dripping down her chin, all the while she was bearing sharper than usual canines.

Rose had been about to pull away Fia's locks from her face so that they don't dip into the beef (it was a bit late for that, really), but as soon as that killer intent returned and filled the entire area with a thick, almost unbearable atmosphere, she had pulled away as if burned by fire. Wide ringed eyes caught just as wide pale blue ones as the two slowly and gently pulled away from the table and Fia.

"I'll order more food." Rose said calmly and softly, all the while her eyes never leaving her currently feral blonde friend. MJ dared not say anything, for fear of provoking whatever made Fia act like that. The same thought was in their minds – that was not normal Fia behavior. One word came to both their minds – Kyuubi.

As soon as they had pulled away, the atmosphere had become bearable again, but the terror remained. How long would this last? Was this change permanent? Somehow they doubted that. Fia had been delirious before and the worst she had done was trip over her own two feet or break something by accident. But the worst of all was the fear of what Pein would think of all of this. They could try to play it off as a Fia-thing, something they did often with most of the shenanigans that went on about them, but they doubted that would work.

The blonde devoured the last of the beef Teriyaki and then moved on to the next dish. With a shared, knowing look, Rose promptly ordered a rather large meal, hoping that the food would be enough to satiate whatever beast had woken up.

**888**

"Itachi, report."

"Leader-sama." The Uchiha bowed respectfully to Pein as the ginger-haired man filed away his paperwork. "I believe they are prepared to take on the mission, despite Michael-san's lack of chakra control. I have observed, however, an improvement on the matter and I believe having the three women work on the field would help her unlock whatever is holding back her training. As per usual, her Taijutsu is impeccable, with her speed and stamina constantly increasing. If she manages to get a hold on her chakra reserves, like the other two, she would easily excel in close to mid-range combat.

Rose-san's progress is just as you have reported it, Leader-sama. Her chakra control is near perfect despite her rather large chakra reserves. She mastered the water walking technique within three tries, which, if I may say so, is nearly unheard of."

"Her supplemented training is paying off, it seems. Soon, she would be ready to handle D and C-rank jutsu." Itachi noted that Pein sounded somewhat pleased. It was no surprise as his leader had invested a lot in this pet project of his. Of the three, the red-haired woman showed exponentially the largest improvement, what with her well-rounded but somewhat average Taijutsu, her excellent Genjutsu spotting skills (the Rinnegan had no small amount of presence factoring into this) and her cool and calm disposition.

"And what of Fiona-san?" the Leader asked.

At that Itachi actually sighed, which Pein took as a sign for his utter exasperation with said woman.

"As I have said before, she is a quick study and unusually observant of her surroundings. She tends to explore the various ways one could manipulate their chakra. I've observed her with my Sharingan, Leader-sama. Today she managed to expel an amount of chakra the size of Kisame-san's reserves in the span of 30 seconds, while…discovering… if one may call it that, a new way to do the water walking technique."

Pein's eyebrows raised a fraction. That explains what he had actually felt today as a huge chakra surge.

"And she is merely at 60 per cent of her expected capacity, from what we have observed of her growing chakra core." The leader exclaimed. "That would mean she'd have the reserves, equivalent to those of Jinchuuriki."

"I believe that would be the case, Leader-sama."

"Anything else?"

"While the technique she created is extremely inefficient as a substitute for the standard Water Walking technique, it could be modified to become an offense-based shielding A-rank Wind technique with centralized area of effect mechanics. The chakra construct seemed to take a particular shape that Fiona-san believed to help her achieve higher speeds upon the water surface. While further analysis is needed on the technique, I advise against it. Fiona-san suffered from chakra exhaustion of very high degree due to her lack of chakra control. She has yet to master the normal Water Walking exercise. She is a… difficult student." Itachi finally amended.

"I see, Itachi. You are dismissed."

"Hai, Leader-sama." And with that, the Uchiha flickered away.

Very slowly, Pein mused, the pieces of the complex puzzle were starting to go to their places. There was an undeniable connection between everything that has been happening since the arrival of the three in Ame. Sometimes, Pein idly wondered if letting them live had been the right choice. To some extent, Konnan was right- they posed a threat to their primary mission and while he could not deny his own doubts, he found himself inexplicably fascinated with the strange bond he shared with Rose. It was a powerful connection, one which allowed him for certain to know that these women were not spies from other villages and that their presence here was not something they had expected. And he knew that Rose felt sorry for not being able to tell him anything else. There was this strange, primordial fear that whatever they knew would ruin everything. That the change that information would bring would be catastrophic. Oddly enough, one of the strange ideas that floated around his head concerned some sort of time travel accident. Maybe Rose was not just some relative, but an actual descendant of his from the not so near future? It was an amusing thought, but also a good explanation for the gap between the technologies the women were used to and what they actually had here.

Pein shook his head and then concentrated on Kakuzu's report from a few nights before.

_**- Flashback-**_

"_What is it Kakuzu?" Nagato hadn't expected the man to suddenly appear in his office, but the notion had him somewhat excited. It was obvious he has some sort of new information._

"_The three women are familiar with at least some of the people who have appeared in the Elemental Countries. Fiona-san confirmed the man in Konoha, Hatorri, is her cousin and also professed a close friendship with one Tifa, which currently resides in Suna."_

_What followed was a decidedly long discussion, concerning the various strange people that had appeared out of the blue all over the elemental continents. Some had more information on them than others. Due to their excellent spy network in Suna, he was well aware of the capabilities and even some of the personal quirks of the silver-haired woman and her young red-haired companion. The girl, Charlie, upon recent reports, was said to bear incredible likeness to their local Jinchuuriki, Gaara of the Desert. And the Tifa woman was said to have very close, intimate even, relations with the Kazekage. Apart from that information, Pein had noted the repeated pattern of possessing items of foreign technology._

_In Konoha things were decidedly more hectic. Apart from that man, Hatorri, who lived with Itachi's brother for some reason, there were also three Hyuuga that supposedly came back from a very long mission, but while one of them, Hannah, was actually registered as a Jounin-level Ninja, at the tender age of 13 no less, her older siblings and a man by the name Misoshi Romero were registered as civilians. The affairs of the Hyuuga were rarely something that he was interested in, but the sheer fact that Hyuuga Hiashi had pulled his weight quite noticeably during council meetings in the last four months, there was a reason for concern. Something of a conspiracy was brewing yet again in Konoha and some of these said events almost mimicked what happened slightly before the Uchiha massacre. And the pattern was here again. Hatorri resembled Sasuke to the point that they could've been mistaken for twins, had they been the same age, Hyuuga Herena (Helen) was a near carbon copy of Hyuuga Hiashi's dead wife, even if their characters were completely different, and Hyuuga Hannah, the latest prodigy of the Main House, resembled the young and haughty second born of Hyuuga Hiashi. Even the brother, one Hyuuga Sai (Simon), was said to bear resemblance to the clan leader, Hiashi._

_With uncanny likenesses left and right, Pein idly wondered whom did Fiona resemble. Rose, looked like him, like the real him, the Keats girl resembled Itachi in more ways than one, though she did possess a rather sharper tongue than the usually soft-spoken Uchiha. No, if Fiona had to resemble someone of note, he'd go with the Fourth Hokage. Despite her skin being several tones darker, she had the same eye shape and the same hair color. And he was certain she also possessed his genius._

_Looking back at the reports, along with Kakuzu, he noted the formation of a somewhat distinct group of people within Sound, Orochimaru's little pet village. Rumours were flying left and right about their appearance as part of Orochimaru's experiments, but so far he had nothing concrete on these people. All he knew was that there was a number of men and women, and three young children (including a baby less than a year old) that had some sort of VIP status within Oto and that they were under constant surveillance._

_Then Kakuzu pointed him towards Kumo, where only a single person of the appropriate strangeness had appeared and it seemed that she had been taken away to a secret facility along with both Jinchuuriki, Kira Bee and Yugito. It was obvious that Kumo knew something. Soon after that had happened Kira Bee's team had been sent on a diplomatic mission encompassing the entirety of the Elemental Nations._

_Next was Iwa. Interestingly enough, they were the only ones with proper ninja reaction. Two of the people sighted were killed on sight while the third, according to the data that had been collected, managed to show an adequate amount of resistance and was taken in alive. That had been several months ago. He had nearly no information on that man, but apparently the Tsuchikage, Onoki, kept him locked up under highest security._

_Last, but not least, was Kiri. While information there always seemed to be shrouded by more speculations and rumors than in any other country, Pein was certain that the data he had received was accurate. A man of the Kaguya clan with exceptional close combat and Kenjutsu mastery, a woman said to possess Tsunade's legendary strength. A berserker whose abilities resembled that of the Jinchuuriki. A trio of people that presented a powerful close combat team under Terumi Mei's employ. According to his sources, since the arrival of these people, the Civil War in Kiri quickly began to fall into Terumi's favor. She was an undoubtedly powerful woman, possessing not one, but two Kekkei Genkai. She would've been a good addition to the Akatsuki had she been accessible._

_So many pieces that formed an irregular and not even a full picture of the mystery that these people presented. After what seemed to be many hours, both he and Kakuzu concluded their research for now. Pein had a village to run and Kakuzu had bounties to collect._

_**-End of Flashback-**_

**888**

**-Water Country, undisclosed location, several months prior-**

Helen had many hungovers over the years but this one seemed to take the cake. Despite waking up just now, she felt cold, tired and thirsty. More so than usual in such situations.

"Owwie, Mein Kopf tut weh…" she mumbled as she forced her eyes to open slightly. Even that action alone made her cringe as the light caused her head to pound even harder. She groaned as she slowly and stiffly sat up. Helen gathered up her knees and pressed her forehead against them, trying to lessen the sense of vertigo she was experiencing. Apparently whatever she had had last night was stronger than vodka and tequila and probably included something a little extra that left her feeling like she was drugged.

Helen slowly opened her eyes again, this time looking down and squinting, discovering the quite startling fact that she was sitting on some sort of dirt road. Okay, whoever must've drugged her in order to have some fun or something could've at least left her in a proper bed, or near a road sign. This was plain rude, and perhaps her friends were right when they told her to try and be more picky with her liaisons for the night, as her Red-head of a busty leader would often say. A tactful and diplomatic woman, that Rose. But none of this helped her current situation. Helen slowly and carefully stood up, not suppressing her discontent groans and moans in the least. Her joints creaked, her back popped several times and her muscles felt like they had been ripped apart by some heavy nightly activity. At least the sex had been good. Probably. Maybe.

"Was vom Teufel!?" Helen exclaimed after noticing that she was near the coast of something with islands being seen in the not too far distance. How drunk was she last night again? And why didn't she remember even going to a party?

Groans gathered her attention and she turned around to see two other people. Maybe they'd been to the same party? She had absolutely no memory of any such event, but the fact that the man looked vaguely familiar got her hopes up that she might find some answers.

"Entschuldigen, Sie? Konnen Sie mir sagen wo wir sind?"

The man looked just as hungover as she. He slowly opened his eyes only to cringe them closed and to hiss in displeasure. He, indeed, looked familiar, but she knew only a few people with silver-dyed hair. Such a man's name was Peter, and he was the leader of the Final Fantasy Cosplay Fan club. This here wasn't Peter, but she still couldn't pinpoint from where she knew him.

"Oh man, fuck. God, my head. Uhm, could you repeat that in English? I'm having a hard time making my brain work right now. Jesus fucking Christ." Helen blinked at the man who was slowly trying to stand up.

"Do you know where we are?" She said simply, while offering a hand to help him up.

"Woah, lady, you got a strong gri- Helen? That you, mate?"

Now she knew where she recognized that face. Brian Hughes, Kimimaro cosplayer extraordinaire, a bit of a hot head, a bit of a cheeky up-start with a good left hook and a meaner right one. Someone as enthusiastic as Fia but also completely and irrevocably male with a taste for shooter games.

"Long time no see Brian. Or maybe we saw each other last night? What a party, huh? Can't remember a single thing. When did you dye your hair, Brian? Looks good, but I liked the light brown better."

"Dyed?" Brian instinctively ran a hand through his short spiky hair. He didn't have a mirror or anything of the sort to see, so he just settled for scowling. "Hey, who's the chick with the dog ears? She isn't one of your…er, yeah."

"Way to go with the awkward Brian." Helen sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The headache was killing her. She hated hangovers. "And no, she isn't one of my girlfriends or boyfriends."

Brian raised an eyebrow and then got a better look at the girl with the snowy white hair and dog ears. She vaguely reminded him of an Inuyasha based cosplay, what with the authentic looking wig with attached ears.

"She doesn't look like a transvestite." Brian finally stated, after thorough observation of the unconscious girl.

Helen face palmed herself rather hard, regretting the action a second later. If it wasn't for her current predicament, she might've been less annoyed with Brian's antics.

"Brian?"

"Yes, Helen?"

"You are an idiot."

Brian merely rolled his eyes at the statement and then opted to kneel by the girl with the dog ears. She was of pale complexion, tall and lean. Her face was pretty, with soft features and large eyes. Her thin, elegant eyebrows weren't as pure white, but more of a soft gray palette. She was dressed in what seemed rather plain for someone who would go to a party. No make-up or jewelry. Something struck him as odd.

"Brian! I think I found some of our stuff. There's a handbag here that's mine."

"Helen, I don't think we went to a party."

Just as the dark ash blonde woman was about to reply, the white-haired girl stirred and groggily opened her eyes.

"Wha-what happened? Where…where am I?" just as the other two, she also felt tremendously hung over, despite knowing for sure that she hadn't been drinking anything alcoholic last night. She was just not the type to drink herself into unrecognizable states of drunkenness. As her vision cleared before her, with a startled, confused look on her face, she stared at her hands.

"Oh, hey, are you all right?" Brian was the first to speak to her but she paid the man no heed.

"My-my arms. My skin! What the hell happened to my skin!" she started to quickly succumb to a state of panic and as Brian tried to reach out to comfort her, she roughly pushed him away. "Stay away from me!" she nearly screamed in her horror.

Her eyes were wide with fear, terror, and panic. They were a bright golden color. The fluffy white dog ears which they had assumed to be some sort of accessories were pointed backwards and were close to the skull, just like a scared dog's.

"What is it with you, she-hulks?" Brian moaned as he attempted to stand up after having the air pushed out of his lungs.

And just as he was about to stand up. Something metallic and shiny appeared in his vision, and before he knew what was happening, a Kunai with a distinct thunk bounced off his forehead, nearly knocking him out in the process. The world swirled around him for several moments and he fell on his back with a painful grunt. He heard Helen yelling out and then there was the sound of wood breaking in half. As the world righted itself in his eyes, he saw shadows flickering by. Those weren't shadows, he realized. Those were people. Danger. With his heart thumping in his ears, Brian stood up with surprising swiftness just was one of those shadowy people appeared before him, sword ready to strike.

By sheer instinct, Brian threw out a swift punch to the man's face. At first, he dodged, but the punch was followed by an extremely swift kick to the gut. The man staggered backwards for a moment but then regained his footing, despite hunching over slightly in pain. His opponent then prepared to strike with his sword, a somewhat short looking Katana.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. By the distinct shape of the sword, he guessed it was a Tantou, something ninja used, according to many sources. By force of habit, Brian raised his left arm to parry the hit, too late realizing that the action might result in losing his arm. For a fraction of a second, just a single thought passed him mind.

_I don't want to lose my arm. I don't want to die._

And then it happened.

The feeling resembled the breaking of a dam. A surge of power washed through him, not unlike a very powerful adrenaline rush. And then there was this tingling sensation within his arm.

Spikes of white sprouted forth and crisscrossed in front of his entire forearm and the back of his hand. As the Tantou struck, the man, a ninja, staggered backwards, eyes wide with shock and fear.

"Kaguya!" he yelled.

Brian didn't wait to see what happened next. He struck. The man was dead before he even touched the ground. Brian has no time to think about the act of murder he had committed. There were at least three more men after his head. As if knowing how to do this his entire life, another set of boy spikes shot out of his other arm, forming a similar brace-like contraption around his other hand. Without hesitating, the silver-haired man charged, reveling in the rush of battle.

Not too far away from him, in a tree covered area Helen was playing an impromptu game of dodge ball, only in which she was the only one dodging, and the ball was actually kunai, shuriken and the occasional jutsu thrown her way. The action itself came completely naturally for her, not blinking even when one of the ninja fired a lightning jutsu her way.

Finally having enough of this surreal nonsense, Helen punched the ground. The resulting shockwave sent her opponents and various debris flying.

**888**

What was going on? Was this a dream? Was this really happening to her? Scattered thoughts ran through her mind as she tried to take in everything that was happening. Elizabeth was not a woman that was easily frightened. She lived and worked in London, all by herself and by her own means. She was saving up money to be able to afford tuition in Oxford, a lifelong dream of hers. She was of Indian descent and her family had been living in Britain for 7 generations now. She had typical tanned skin and dark brown, almost obsidian-like eyes. But she was the most proud of her long, black hair. A thick silky mane that her mother used to love to brush into perfection and then braid, back when she still lived with her parents.

Living on her own, having a job, supporting herself without being a burden to her family. She was quite independent for a 19-year old.

But now… Everything was so loud and bright. And the smells. Everything smelled of seaweed and fish, of green, like freshly cut grass and yet not exactly like that. It was so disorienting. And that man with the red dots on his forehead and the spiky silvery hair. Who was he? Where the hell was she, anyway?

All those questions were put on hold as a kunai whizzed by and she saw with perfect clarity as it bounced off of the man's forehead, all the while blood beginning to pour out. Elizabeth was so shocked that she didn't have it in her to even scream out. The strong metallic scent of blood hit her nose and her heart began to thump in her ears. Soft steps, rustling of cloth and whooshing sounds. Then the gentle grinding of metal against metal and then the attack.

A short but muscled woman jumped out of the brush next to her. She was dressed in thick black clothing and wore a mask on her face. She also had a metal plate on her forehead. Hitai-ate, Elizabeth reminded herself. The symbol, she recognized it. Kiri. Mist. The woman swiftly struck with the Kunai she had in hand. Her dark eyes never left Elizabeth's shocked golden orbs as she did so. There was no emotion in them, save for determination.

As Elizabeth looked down, she discovered the Kunai imbedded in her flesh, just below her left breast, all the way to the hilt. The woman, a Kunoichi, pulled out the kunai and aimed to strike again.

Elizabeth saw **RED.**

**888**

Blood…

**Blood…**

**The smell of Blood…**

**It's dripping….from my chest…**

**That's my blood.**

**That's MY blood.**

**THAT IS MY BLOOD.**

"**THAT IS MY BLOOD, YOU BITCH!" **the white-haired woman screeched as she grabbed the Kunoichi by the throat with inhuman swiftness. She felt as something gave in and cracked beneath her palm and the Kunoichi's eyes rolled back in their sockets and she gurgled out blood. She squeezed harder until she felt the vertebrae crack and break beneath her hold, making her feel a perverse sense of satisfaction.

She threw the useless dead thing aside, merciless slits within golden orbs scanning for their next prey.

"**You… You want my blood, too?"** the she-devil growled as she glared straight into a group on Kiri-nin. "**Then I will give you MY BLOOD!"**

She dug her clawed hand into her wound and with a terrifying roar unleashed a barrage of what seemed to be flying scythes of bright red blood. Most of the ninja managed to flicker away in time but one got caught up in the deadly attack and was sliced into pieces.

"Suiton: Teppodama!"

A bullet of water collided with the she-devil's back and she screeched out in pain and anger, she turned around to find whoever attacked her and **RIP THEM TO SHREDS.**

"Suiton: Yomi Numa!"

Suddenly, the earth beneath her feet liquefied and before she knew it, she was sucked down to her neck in mud, which then rapidly began to harden again.

"We caught it!" one of the ninja exclaimed in relief.

"Filthy Bakemono." Said another one as it took out his Tantou and prepared to decapitate the she-monster.

The she-devil started growling. She didn't understand what they were saying. But she knew the word Bakemono.

**MONSTER**

She growled and tensed and her anger and blood thirst intensified as that good for nothing trash kept approaching her. She'd **RIP **out his eyes, **TEAR OUT **his throat, **RAVAGE **his chest and **EAT HIS STILL BEATING HEART.**

She wanted them **DEAD**. She wanted to **KILL.** She wanted **THEIR BLOOD ON HER HANDS.**

The earth began to crack as she forced her limbs to move by the sheer force of her will.

"Look out!" one of the ninja yelled, as the Bakemono, as they called her, erupted from the ground, glinting long claws poised to strike. Waves of killing intent and power radiated from her as she crouched down, ready to attack. The Kiri-nin prepared their weapons of choice.

"We need to call back up, Kouta-san, go get Taichou!"

It was then that she struck. Throwing her clawed hands at the first prey in sight, she ripped him to shreds with nary an effort. Jutsu, shuriken and kunai were thrown her way, only serving to fuel her anger and blood rage, A deranged grimace had spread on her otherwise pretty face, teeth bared, revealing a perfect row with sharp incisors and elongated canines.

**Rip.**

**Stab.**

**Claw.**

**Rupture.**

**Ravage.**

**DESTROY.**

**KILL.**

ANIHILATE.

**LET THE BLOOD BOIL IN MY VEINS.**

** E**

And then her eyes set upon the man, armored in bones and spikes.

**888**

If Brian had ever said that anime battles were cool, he was pretty much ready to take his words back. Aside the fact that he enjoyed to feel the blood thump in his veins, there was also the rather unpleasant sight of death and murder that was strewn about him. His breathing was harsh and strained, from the exhausting battle he had just been through. He was so shocked that he was still alive that he would've laughed, had he the air to do so at the moment. His bone armor acted both as defense and offense, oftentimes superior to the metal blades and what not of his opponents. That were now dead, by the way. By his hand, no less. He felt alive, though. Really alive, for the first time in his life. He liked fighting.

Brian was about to head off to the forested area where he had last seen Helen, to help her out with her batch. Not that little Miss Super Strength needed help. He saw a ninja shoot out of the trees and into the distance a while earlier. He doubted that person would be getting up from that, even if they land in water, which seemed to be in abundance around them.

Oh, and another thing? They just took care of a whole battalion, or whatever they call themselves at this size of a unit, of Kiri ninja. Not missing-nin. Not thugs or Yakuza or something of the like. Legitimate, Kiri God forsaken ninja. They had to get the fuck out of here before someone connected the dots, which happened to be bloody with death and murder, by the way. Brian would much rather keep living, thank you very much.

A guttural growl stopped him in his tracks. He had heard a tremendous commotion around the area to which dog-girl had run off to and he was pretty sure he'd find death and despair there as well. But that growl came from something utterly inhuman. Slowly and carefully, Brian turned around to come face to face with probably one of the scariest things he had seen to this day. Covered with blood and even small pieces of flesh, tall, muscular, with glowing eyes, flashing teeth and claws, was the imposing form of the Inuyasha-like chick.

Brian would've pissed himself then and there, had he not been covered from head to toe in metal-crunching bone armor, created by yours truly. Still, he couldn't help but gulp audibly as the thing approached him with a maniac's stare, flexing her clawed fingers.

Very, very slowly and gently, Brian willed the bone armor to thicken and harden even further, absolutely sure that anything less than the best would mean his certain death.

Just as the demonified Inuyasha girl charged forward, Helen rushed by him and with a kick to the stomach sent the she-devil flying into the trees.

"Bout time you showed up, babe. I almost thought you were gonna chicken out of the kill score."

Helen produced a sound that was something between a scoff and a snort. Her eyes never left the general area into which she had kicked the girl.

"Whatever your score is, she's winning." Helen said seriously, as a roar came from the woods. This was going to be one hell of a fight, and she did not want to think what would happen if this berserking thing ended up near a village or a settlement of some sort. They had to stop it here.

**888**

**-Earth Country, undisclosed location-**

"I know that you are awake, Bakemono."

Two golden eyes opened and stared down at the owner of the voice.

"Tsuchikage." He greeted the man with an even, calm voice. Despite his situation, he knew that the slightest provocation would be enough to make them try to kill him again. The keyword being try. And he, Jack Harper, had always been man of patience. He understood why this was happening. He did not like it, but he hoped that by showing good will and not threatening his guards, he'd be allowed better living conditions. He was deep in the earth, in a dungeon created especially to contain him. Seals were burned into his flesh, special chakra shackles of the highest degree were used to keep him bound.

He rarely slept and food and water were brought only once per week. A normal human would've died ages ago. He wasn't human anymore and he knew it, from the markings on his body, to the fact that he now sported not only claws and sharper teeth, but also silvery white long locks of silken hair. He had been locked down here for a month, or so he had determined. From time to time seal masters would come to strengthen the seals or to observe him and his unnaturalness. More often than not, however, the Tsuchikage himself, a small man by the name Onoki, would come over and would ask him questions. Sometimes he asked about who he was and where he came from, other times he would try to force him to reveal the secrets of his power. But most of the time he would come in order to marvel the inhuman being before him, a monster in the shape of a tall, muscular man, with a serene, if tired expression on his face.

"How have you been, Tsuchikage? I hear that the Butterfly Festival went very well. Your speech was impressive."

As always, Onoki did not show his surprise with the knowledge his prisoner professed of the outside world. He suspected the man had ridiculously astute hearing. Day after day he wondered if he could use this wondrously powerful creature as a weapon in the arsenal of Iwa. Despite his docile behavior, he still remembered what happened with the other two, if human, individuals that had been found under the same circumstances as this beast thing.

Incredibly powerful, but, in the end, still mortal and human. But this thing before him, this demon… he had shrugged off every single one of the attacks upon his person. He hadn't surrendered in any way, however. It had been an entire squad of Iwa's best seal masters that worked together for hours on end, along with the assault teams to finally capture this amazing creature. A genuine demon. A creature of incredible power that was not a tailed beast.

And during the battles, he had been there. When they had finally forced him to transform into his true and terrifying form – that of a gigantic white-furred demon dog, he hadn't growled or taunted them. He merely stood there, watching, waiting for their next move. From where had he come from? Onoki had no idea. But if more were to come, then he would be prepared. He couldn't let the man go, despite his docile behavior.

Onoki knew next to nothing about this creature. Despite him answering any questions to the best of his ability, the Tsuchikage had no way of knowing if what was said was true or carefully woven lies. Furthermore, he had the dreadful feeling that whatever precaution he had taken to keep this beast at bay, it would not be enough to hold him if he decided to leave. For that reason, he made sure his seal masters worked day and night to improve the seals used to imprison him.

He called himself Jack. It was a strange name in a strange tongue and he didn't like it. He had told him so and the creature had laughed. It was a pleasant, melodic sound. Not exactly joyous, but a tired, gentle laugh.

"You need a better name." Onoki had scoffed, nodding his head at his decision.

"Why, Tsuchikage?" Jack had asked, calmly, as he always spoke with a near serene tone in his voice.

"Because you are a monster. Monsters like you deserve monstrous names."

"Tell me, then Tsuchikage. Are you a monster?"

"What kind of a question is that!? Of course I am not a monster!"

"Monsters are made, Tsuchikage. Nobody is born a monster. I did not come here by my free will and, had I the chance, I would return home without causing you trouble and loss of resources any further."

"You keep saying that, Harper Jack. And yet a Bakemono like you is in my prison. And two other infiltrators are dead."

"I did not know these people, nor do I understand why you had to kill us on sight just from being where we were. What if we were normal civilians, just passing through? Does life mean nothing to you, Tsuchikage?"

Despite the harsh accusation, Onoki did not lash out, like he first did. This Bakemono, Jack, liked to have discussions of philosophical nature. He supposed that, as a highly intelligent person, he found himself lacking in company. He couldn't blame him either, if he'd been in his position, he'd be bored stiff, too.

"Sometimes lives must be taken to protect those that are precious to us."

"You could say that all of this is just a big misunderstanding. None of your ninja were critically wounded or crippled by my actions of self-defense. You could just let me go and I would be on my merry way, away from Earth Country. "

"Wherever you go, you will cause problems. And those problems would be tracked back to us, in Iwa, and then they would become our problems, Bakemono. I will not let you go."

"A book or twelve would do me wonders."

Onoki's mouth twitched. He couldn't say he disliked the guy, even if he happened to be a fourteen story tall white dog with glowing red eyes.

"Any topic in particular?"

A small smile spread on Jack's lips.

**888**

"Grandfather, please let me help you with those books." Kurotsuchi pleaded, but she knew it was mostly pointless. Her grandfather, Onoki, would be stubborn and would carry those heavy looking books to wherever he had decided to carry them, and then he'd have horrible pains in his back, as usual. "Grandpa, please! You will –"

CRACK!

"Oiii! My back!"

"…hurt your back." Kurotsuchi finished lamely. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I will get Tetsuna-sensei."

Tetsuna-sensei was Onoki's personal doctor. Sometimes Kurotsuchi wondered how Tetsuna was still on active duty, when she had been the one to deliver Onoki into the world in the first place. Stubborn old people. No matter how many times she tried to make them see reason, they would never listen to her.

"-no less than 2 weeks of bed rest, you hear me, Onoki-chan?" Tetsuna-sensei ordered strictly, as Kurotsuchi sweat dropped. Who else but that old hag Tetsuna would call her grandfather, the Tsuchikage no less, Onoki-chan?

"Two Weeks!? I have a village to run, I must get back to-"and Onoki tried to sit up. He really did.

CRACK!

"Ut-ut-ut-ut!" manly tears of agony rolled down his eyes as slumped back into his bed.

Tetsuna and Kurotsuchi shared a tired sigh.

**888**

"Bring him some books," her grandfather had said." He's getting bored and our seal masters aren't ready with an appropriately powerful seal array to subdue him yet."

Kurotsuchi had shuddered at the implications. She looked down and the books she was holding in her arms. Thick and dusty volumes of the history of Earth Country, from her Grandfather's personal collection. A tick of annoyance appeared above her left eye. What kind of intelligent person considers history books of all things an interesting read? History by itself was important and often times quite illuminating. But if a person is bored, why not bring him something interesting? Like an actual work of art – a novel, some poetry or something else in that sense.

Kurotsuchi sighed and put away the thick tomes of history. In their stead, she pulled out one of her favorite books since she was a child.

As she was lead down the narrow tunnel deep into the earth, Onoki's granddaughter took note of her grandpa's work. After all, he had personally made this dungeon for the sake of keeping the Bakemono imprisoned. Her pink colored eyed marveled at the precision with which he worked.

"Honored Granddaughter, this way, please."

Kurotsuchi nodded at one of the guards and followed him down another set of stairs. The design of this dungeon was quite intriguing. At certain points there were chambers dug out of the solid rock, with walls heavily covered in various seals, none of which she could recognize.

"Try to keep your distance, Kurotsuchi-sama, he is very dangerous." The Kunoichi next to her mumbled and she could do nothing more than smile reassuringly and then enter the layer of the beast.

What she saw wasn't exactly what her father described. It was a bound man, with long silvery hair. He was tall, muscular and lean. As the door behind her closed, she felt her heart go into her throat. While he did not look that out of the ordinary, she finally started to understand why her Onoki-jiji found him so fascinating. There was an aura of sheer power about him, even if serene and calm, it was still almost suffocating.

Willing her extensive training as Kunoichi of Iwa to the front, she took a step forward, her pink eyes never leaving him. Slowly and gently, he raised his head, revealing a beautiful face, pale skin and golden piercing eyes.

"Hello." He merely said and just gazed at her calmly.

Her eyes darted towards his bound hands. They looked like they were made by a skilled sculptor, and for a second or two she just marveled at just how perfect everything was about him. His hands ended with deadly claws. Her grandfather had told her that the Bakemono had warned him of poison. She tried to keep equal distance away from his claws.

"Hello." She finally replied with a polite bow. "My grandfather, the Tsuchikage, told me you would like to read some books, so I brought you some."

"This isn't a history book." The man observed and Kurotsuchi thought she could almost hear a note of disappointment in his voice.

"Eh?"

So he had actually wanted a History book? And here she thought her grandpa's awful taste in literature was striking again.

"I brought a book I thought you'd prefer to boring history books." Kurotsuchi said, a bit too haughtily than she had intended to, but still quite certain her choice was better.

"Hn. What did you bring me then?" he inquired, actual interest oozing a bit into his serene voice.

"It is a story book. My favorite, in fact." Kurotsuchi announced, and placed the book on the chair near the Bakemono.

She was about to leave as swiftly as possible, as she found herself unnerved by him.

"Would you please read for me?" he asked just as she was about to ask the guards to open the heavily sealed door.

For a moment, Kurotsuchi froze, after hearing his request. She felt quite foolish. The man was bound and she expected him to be able to read the book on his own. She nibbled on her lower lip and then turned around to face him again. Those inquiring golden eyes were simply watching her, calmly, non-obtrusively. They reminded her of a puppy.

Kurotsuchi sighed.

"Very well."

She walked up to him with a confidence she wasn't exactly feeling and she picked up the book from the chair. She sat on it and opened to one of her favourite stories.

"This one is about the Daimiyo's Eldest Daughter and the Cursed Ronin." She proclaimed, and for the next few hours or so, she regaled him with the tales of wonder and legend, so inherent to the culture of Tsuchi no Kuni.

As the Kunoichi was about to leave, Jack stopped her once again.

"I am very grateful for your time, Kurotsuchi-dono."

"I never told you my name."

He smiled warmly and her heart stopped beating for a few moments. As she went on her way back to the surface, she tried to suppress the urge to start running. Then again, her quick strides were as close as possible to that line between walking in a dignified manner and getting the hell out of there as fast as possible.

**888**

**-Water Country, undisclosed location, several months prior-**

"Move!" Helen shouted as she dove to the side and narrowly avoided being hit by scythes of blood. "She utilizes the Blades of Blood!"

"I can see that, Helen." Brian responded as he got back to his feet with a grunt. While his bone armor made him feel like a miniature super tank, its added weight did not do anything good for his speed and agility. If you had to stay in one place and take all the agro, then he needed something a wee bit extra – like a Big Bad Ass Bone Spike Shield. "Cover me for a moment"

"Roger." Helen nodded, as the Inuyasha girl rushed out of the tree line. Immediately she headed for her greatest antagonizer – the dark ash blonde girl. With an enraged roar and claws ready, the demonized Elizabeth sliced at the air where moments prior Helen's body was. While suddenly exceptionally good at dodging, the Sakura cosplayer found herself pressed to keep focused enough to get out of the claws' way. Occasionally she'd parry the dangerous blows, her arms enhanced with chakra to take the demon's side blows.

"**Die!**" the Inuyasha girl roared as she swiped away in her blood rage. The hairs on the back of Helen's neck raised as she saw a very faint glow around the claws. Her eyes widened. "**Iron Reaver-"**

"Denied, bitch!" Brian exclaimed vigorously, with a mighty shield bash that left him feeling giddy.

"You made a shield? Why not a nice big ass sword while you were at it!?" Helen screamed as she tried to pull herself together after this near-death experience.

"I'm starting to tire, unlike some people!" Brian huffed. Just keeping the bones dense and hard was taking a toll on him. He was predicting industrial amounts of milk in the near foreseeable future. If they would survive this, that is.

Helen kept her mouth shut as the she-devil got back up and growled at them. Dread was starting to fill her thoughts but she knew that giving in now meant to die. There had to be some way to stop the she-devil before both of them were killed. She knew that eventually the woman would tire and fall back into a more docile or normal state. Helen sneaked a glance at Brian. She suppressed a shudder. Bones and bone like matter was growing out of his very skin, his very flesh. From head to toe, a self-styled juggernaut of sorts. She looked back at the Bakemono. Despite her waning reserves, she knew she could throw at least three or so enhanced blows before she was all out. She had to make them count and knock out the woman. Perhaps a hit to the solar plexus or a blow to the head? It wasn't much of a strategy but at least she had some sort of plan.

**888**

"-scout the perimeter. Tora, Seizo, carry on ahead and report back if you find anything. We must not let the Bloody Mist take this advantage from us."

"Hai, Terumi-Taichou!" the ninja dashed to their designated positions, as Terumi Mei, a Kunoichi of sizeable power and skill, and three other shinobi continued ahead at their set pace.

The immense chakra surge was sure to have been felt within the entirety of Water Country at the least. It had been so powerful that even shinobi who were not Chakra Sensors, for example herself, felt the hairs at the back of their necks stand. She had heard rumors of similar such events occurring all over the Elemental nations several months ago. If this was happening in Water Country now, whatever it was, would either be neutralized or used as a resource by the Rebel Forces. Success was required at all costs.

Anticipation was nearly getting to her, Mei realized, as when the static cackled for a moment or two over their radio coms, her heart skipped a few beats. And then Tora, amidst what sounded to be like some sort of battle, gave his excited, if short, report. When her team arrived, it couldn't have been more on time. Mei's eyes widened in surprise and no small amount of excitement, as she found herself staring at an actual, real live member of the Kaguya clan. _With an active bloodline._ At least she managed to suppress her gasp. Today was a good day for the Rebel Forces.

Soon enough, however, her mind caught up with the situation. There were bodies everywhere, casualties from the Bloody Mist. And the Kaguya was protecting a gravely injured woman with the last vestiges of his strength.

"Bakemono." She uttered almost disbelievingly. With an aura as thick and oppressive as that of a raging bijuu, the white-haired woman was clawing away at the cracking and crumbling self-made bone shield that the Kaguya was holding. Her crazed expression clearly showed her intention of playing with her victims till the very end.

Mei did not hesitate as she formed seals with blurring swiftness. Water rose from the nearby banks and swept at the unsuspecting she-devil. With tremendous force, the watery mass pulled back into the sea, the she-devil trapped within.

Her fellow ninja followed her initiating move and jumped onto the water. With combined efforts, six ninja performed simultaneously what seemed to be a combined Water Prison.

Finally, the Kaguya fell to his knees, keeping conscious by the sheer force of his will. His eyes never left the struggling form of the white-haired girl, as she struggled to escape the over-powered version of the Water Prison, but to no avail. Soon enough she fell unconscious from the lack of oxygen and the thick and oppressive feeling of her aura disappeared. Mei noted that the markings on her hands and cheeks disappeared and that she suddenly looked less feral, less threatening. Never the less, she ordered her ninja to put as many chakra suppressors as possible, and to tie her up. With that business concluded, she nodded to Yuta, the medic for the combined team of eight, to take a look at the heavily injured girl.

"It seems that you will have quite the story to tell, Kaguya-san." Mei smiled pleasantly at the man before her. He did not avert his gaze, but he did smirk cheekily at her, which was quite the feat, considering his fatigue and his battered and bruised form.

"I'm the only one awake, anyways." He huffed as he forced himself to stand up. He grinned again, happiness practically oozing from him. "If I tell you I could kiss you right now, you won't hit me, right?"

Mei's eyebrows raised, trying to decide whether he was really that happy for the intervention or he was actually trying to flirt with her.

"You could try to kiss me, but I would have to kill you." She stated sweetly, for good measure.

**888**

"Her wounds were deep, but clean cut. I was able to heal the majority of them and will continue treatment until full recovery. The patient also suffered mild to severe chakra exhaustion and there is also an atypical phenomenon concerning the development of the patient's chakra core."

Mei looked at Yuta, taking her time to assimilate the exact situation from the older woman's report.

"What kind of atypical phenomenon are we talking about, Yuta-san?"

The medic pulled out several charts from Helen's file and placed them accordingly onto Mei's desk. Yuta could do so much to contain her excitement and Mei couldn't blame her. What they were looking at was data that baffled everything most of them even knew about chakra and its growth that was supposed to be parallel with one's physical, spiritual and emotional growth.

"Shouldn't that be the equivalent of a four-year old's chakra growth rates?"

"Oh, they were. And they are continuing to rapidly expand and adjust to parameters that are appropriate for the body."

"But according to these results here- "

"A day ago the patient hadn't even been in possession of a chakra core, let alone a Chakra Circulatory System."

"But that is impossible." Mei raised her elegant eyebrows to accentuate her statement.

"Perhaps, not anymore, though."

"What of the Bakemono?"

"Erizubetu, pardon, Erza-san has awoken. She was very confused at first and there was also the difficulty of the language barrier. Brian-san was kind enough to translate. Apparently, Erza-san has no memory of the ambush from Bloody Mist, nor does she know how she has ended up here. She does, however, seem to support Brian-san's theory of, hm, interdimensional travel. That is, of course, if Brian-san's translation is to be trusted."

_**-Flashback, a couple of hours earlier-**_

"_State your name."_

"_Hughes Brian. Can I have another glass of milk? Thanks!"_

"_State your affiliation."_

"_Uhm, American. Member of the AFC, Rank Four. That's a Fan Club, by the way. Uh…I'm not exactly interested in politics. Oh, and what exactly do you mean by affiliation? Hidden village, Elemental country or something like that, maybe? Got none of those, though."_

_The interrogating ninja looked at each other, as the left one jotted down American, whatever that meant. This was definitely going to be a long session, if this Brian's antics were anything to go by._

"_What is your relation with the Kaguya clan?"_

"_Apparently I am one of them, since I got the bloodline and all that jazz. It's not like I had it before, though. I mean, before I arrived here. We just woke up on the ground, you know. No idea how we got here, or where exactly here was. That was until there were suddenly ninja everywhere and things went guano from then on. Then you guys came. Thanks a bunch for that, by the way. You guys rock!"_

"_What do you mean when you say you have no idea how you got here?"_

"_Uhm, you see, you are going to think I am crazy, but bear with me. I swear this is the truth, ok? So, back at home, there is this story about ninja. And the AFC is its most popular fan club. Long story short, that story is about you guys, the ninja. So I just woke up in a different world. Do you follow me so far? No, oh well. So, imagine waking up with silver hair, two red dots on the forehead and… oh wow! Hehe! Boners. Ha! That totally gets a whole new level of funny now. Anywhore – uh, I mean, anyways, I got this totally awesome bloodline, and you guys saved us, so I, at least, well, think, uh, that I owe you one, so…uhm, I wanna join you guys with the whole Rebel thing-a-majig. You know. Rebel-rebel? Power to the people? Freedom fighters? Yay? At least I get to fight bad guys, right? Cus, I totally want to fight bad guys with my super awesome powers of the Boner—pff, I can't even say it with a straight face. I totally gonna practice this!"_

_**-End of Flashback-**_

"Either he is completely and utterly insane, and, mind you, we have quite a few crazies already, or he is still in that happy place." Mei shook her head. "Maybe I shouldn't have hit him so hard when he tried to hug me. Oh well, too late to worry about that now."

_**-Flashback, a little bit later-**_

"_-so, yeah. That's kinda what happened. And you, kinda, just a wee bit, went bat shit crazy, demon blood rage crazy, to be exact. So you're pretty much a danger to everybody and, uh, what did they wanted me to tell you again? Oh, yeah! We need to figure out how to control that. I tried to explain that this shit triggers only when you are in mortal danger, but you know how the ninja folk are. And these here are some bad ass ninja folk. And their leader. Phew. Hot woman."_

_Elizabeth just stared at the silver-haired man who had been ranting happily for a while. In the first few moments she almost thought he was joking. Her? Kill a bunch of people in a blood rage. But then she would look down and see her pale skin, the snowy white locks of her hair, the elongated and sharpened nails on her fingers. Her muscles were more defined and if all of this wasn't a dead ringer for something being completely wrong, then she'd point at the pair of dog ears on top of her head. She had two sets of ears, for the Queen's sake! At least she didn't have bangs. She hated those and they always got in her eyes. But her pretty pitch black hair color was utterly mutilated into white._

"_Stop gawking! It's not funny!" she finally snapped at Brian, who hadn't blinked in the last minute, staring at her._

"_Your fluffy ears twitch." He stated in child-like awe, apparently transfixed by her newest set of appendages._

_She sighed with a mournful expression. Elizabeth probably wouldn't have been in an even more horrible situation. The only thing Brian and herself had in common, was that she was aware of Akatsuki Fan Club's close liaisons with the Inuyasha Fanclub. And that was it. Brian may have been a member, but so were a gazillion other people, and she had only met personally a handful of AFC Core Members. She had never met him personally and that eerily cheerful disposition he was exhuming was seriously creeping her out. She didn't want to be rude or anything, but couldn't he just give her a bloody time out for at least 5 minutes so she could try to pick herself up and figure out what to do from now on!?_

_And last but not least, the horrible way the locals butchered her name. She was absolutely horrified. Who in their right mind wouldn't laugh their asses off if they heard Erizubetu? At least that grinning idiot Brian finally sprouted some sense in that crazy place known as his brain. He had told them to call her Erza, and she actually found the solution to be quite nice and to her liking. Erza, the Queen of the Fairies. She would've giggled if she hadn't been tied up like some terrorist with at least five ninja keeping an eye on her. And then there was this seal that made the tent she was kept in sound proof. Maybe she felt somewhat thankful for that. Every sound, every single noise, she heard in what she could describe as crystal clarity, even the tiniest scratches of insects upon the ground, the rustling of the leaves… it was so disorienting, but she tried to put all of that cacophony in the background of her consciousness. She supposed she was going to eventually get used to it. She scrunched up her nose. But there was no getting used to the smell of armpits that whiffed every so often from the tent's opening. Brian had told her there was a training zone of some sorts near her tent._

"_How can you be so happy!? We killed people and you are grinning like an idiot!" Erza finally snapped at the silver-haired man, who at least had the sense to look a bit guilty. That guilt lasted about five seconds._

"_Dude! We are in the Ninjaverse! In an entirely different world! We have super-powers and you are asking me how I can be so happy? Well, fuck, then. I could die in the next five minutes and still don't regret it, because we are in the fucking Water Country! How many people have gotten this chance? Besides L-chan, Fia, MJ, Hatorri and Tifa, that is. I wonder what they are doing right now. Probably kicking ass and taking names. Man, we are sooooo far behind it isn't even funny. We have a lot of catching up to do! Hey! I bet I can get Mei-chan to train us and then we will take down that bastard, the Mizukage, and then we will be heroes! Heh, I doubt even MJ and Tifa had had the chance to take down a Kage. That would totally count towards our DKP scores."_

"_Do you always talk so much?"_

_Brian looked thoughtful, thinking over the question._

"_Well, yeah. I mean, I have a lot to say, you know? Like, Helen should be up around tomorrow morning or sometime in the early afternoon the latest. I mean, that was what Yuta-sensei said, and she's one pretty mean looking medic, you know? She scares the crap outta me. I think she might be a sensor, you know? The type of ninja, capable of detecting other ninja by their chakra emissions and stuff. Just saying, since I don't know how much you know about ninja and stuff."_

"_I am not some illiterate moron, you idiot." Erza actually growled at him. She sighed, doggy ears flattened and expression dull and sad. "Is this Helen alright? I mean, I didn't hurt her too much, did I?"_

"_Oh, she was in pretty bad shape, but she'll make a full recovery. No scars and stuff, which is kinda nice, since she has a nice ass and a bit of an abs thing going on and that would be a shame. Having scars, I mean. And don't worry about it. We don't hold it against you. You're an Inuyasha, after all. Demonic rage and all that jazz is your thing."_

"_Ugh, don't remind me. I have no idea how I would even begin apologizing to the lady."_

"_Lady? Who, Helen? Hah, that's a nice one. She can pretty much punch you into next Wednesday. And she wouldn't even be trying. In case you were wondering, she's AFC's top Sakura cosplayer. Rank two, even."_

"_So, we basically get the powers of our cosplays? That is actually pretty lame. A bit of originality wouldn't hurt, you know."_

_Somewhere, up in the heavens, one deity was laughing their asses off at another, who was sulking with the tremendous might of many thousands of upset 5 year olds._

"_Well, I wouldn't be complaining. I was a friggin' death knight in bone armor and all that for half an hour. It was pretty intense, but I was fucking awesome to the Tee. And you? You probably saved our asses, since those guys were Bloody Mist, according to Mei-chan."_

"_Does Terumi-sama know you are calling her Mei-chan?"_

"_That's not the point."_

"_It is only polite to refer to her as sama, Brian."_

"_You British people are all the same. Pff. Anywhore- I mean anyways, imagine being prisoners to the current Mizukage. You do know who pulls his strings right? Right. So basically, by killing all those folks, you saved a lot of lives by preserving whatever we know."_

"_But you told these…rebels who we are and where we come from? Isn't that you being a hypocrite?"_

"_Yeah, well, I didn't babble on every single thing I could think of. I just told them there were these short stories with just vague information of actual worth. It's an AFC contingency plan, you know? You can't have the locals know everything, might cause a paradox or even break the entire timeline. Imagine if the bad guys won because of us? That would be pretty bad. Like, on the scale from one to ten, it would totally score eleven, and it would be all our fault."_

"_The AFC has contingency plans about time travel and transdimensional travel?" Erza's eyebrows had shot up at that incredulous bit of information. "Just how paranoid or demented do you have to be? Ugh…I don't even want to think about it. This is beyond an acceptable level of being an otaku, I can tell you that."_

"_So, you mean to tell me the Inuyasha Fan Club doesn't have contingency plans about time traveling wells? That would be… sad."_

_Erza's doggy ears twitched. She was in another dimension and she just had to be stuck with a certified idiot nerd with visions of gaming grandeur. She hoped that this Helen person would be more normal or at least more likeable._

_**-End of Flashback-**_

Helen woke up with the feeling of tiredness that one acquired after an extended and quite straining training session. Despite that she noted that there were absolutely no traces of that mind-numbing headache she had. Slowly, she sat up and let out a little groan. Her memories were catching up to her and she tried not to think of the blood that was on her hands. It still felt like some sort of bizarre dream that she had partaken in and then there was that Inuyasha girl that had managed to get a lucky swipe at her. The sensation of having her guts sliced was probably the one thing that still kept her rather grounded and reserved about the idea of trans-dimensional travel. Perhaps she was still in shock, or perhaps she simply denied the truth of the matter.

Helen was stationed on a simple, but comfortable futon in a tent. She could recognize various medical utensils about her and she also saw what seemed to be shadows cast on the other side of the tent's thick cloth. Apparently she was in a secluded medical ward with several people guarding her. There was a small low table near her futon and there was a pitcher of water on it and what looked like some sort of thick crackers. With a shrug, Helen poured herself some water and attacked one of the crackers.

She blinked and looked at what she had thought was a cracker. The taste left a lot to be desired, but she recognized the telltale taste of the mixture of proteins, vitamins and minerals. It was some sort of energy bar. Well, people did say hunger was the best seasoning one could have. Ignoring the rather bland taste, Helen slowly devoured two of the energy bars, quickly feeling a lot more refreshed as she washed the taste down with the cool water from the pitcher.

"I hadn't exactly prepared those for you, but help yourself."

Helen blinked and sharply turned her head towards the owner of the voice. It was a middle aged woman. She was thin, with sharp features, with big, cherry brown eyes and thin lips. She had her pitch black hair pulled up into an immaculate bun, adorned with what seemed to be two senbon.

"Hello." Helen greeted, not really knowing how to react to the woman. Just by looking at her, she guessed she had been the one to heal her. The woman looked like a medic-nin, to her, at least. She wore a flak jacket, on top of simple black, if somewhat thick, ninja clothing. Her instincts were telling her she probably had senbon hidden all over her body. It was probably an astute observation, as well.

"My name is Hirano Yutaka. I am your assigned medic. You may call me Hirano-sensei or Yuta-sensei." The woman said as she took a seat next to Helen and grabbed an energy bar of her own.

For a moment, they just sat quietly. Helen stared at the woman, somewhat in awe to be in the presence of an actual, no-nonsense field medic. The woman looked every bit of her job.

"Excuse me, Yuta-sensei, but where am I?"

"You are currently in our encampment, Herena-san. Where exactly, however, is not something I would tell you."

"I see." Helen mumbled as she looked down at herself. The flesh in her abdominal area felt somewhat tender, but it was otherwise fine.

"You healed me, Sensei?"

"I think that would be obvious, yes."

A small voice in the back of her head was telling Helen that the woman wanted something. Those big cherry brown eyes were watching her like a hawk and she felt mildly unnerved by that stare.

"You've had training as a medic." Finally, the older woman spoke.

So this was what all of this was about. There was only one person known for their super strength and medical training – Tsunade.

"Apart from a few first aid courses, I haven't really had the formal education." Helen admitted, trying to suppress the urge to squirm under that sharp gaze.

"Your chakra says otherwise, however. Who trained you?"

"I was never trained in the medical arts, sensei."

"Hm. I see. Perhaps I should bring the Kaguya, that Brian-san. I find him rather unpleasant but he should be able to help you loosen your tongue."

For a moment, she looked confused at that statement. As Yuta got up and walked out, a chill ran down her spine. What the hell did Brian tell them!?

**888**

"Do you have a special talent pissing off women or something, kid?" the gruff ninja asked Brian, as he watched his fellow Kunoichi storm off, after leaving a big red hand print onto Brian's left cheek.

"Or something. Well, it's not exactly a special talent, per se." the bone user started as he tenderly rubbed his red cheek." My mouth just tends to run off. But damn if that wasn't one hot chick."

"She's old enough to be your mother, kid. How old are you, anyways? Fifteen? Seventeen?"

"I'm twenty one, actually." Brian sniffed indignantly.

"She's still old enough to be your mother."

"Doesn't make her any less hot, though."

The gruff ninja blinked and chuckled at the logic.

"Now I know why I like you, kid. You've got guts."

Brian was about to continue the coolest casual conversation he had ever had in his life, when that Medic-nin, Yutaka, appeared and promptly dragged him to the tent where Helen was treated. He found said fellow cosplayer nibbling on an energy bar.

"Woman, how can you eat that stuff? It tastes like three year old dried oatmeal. Yuck."

Yuta-sensei made an effort not to tell him how astute his observation was. It was an effort well-spent. Provisions were hard to come by when one was in a state of civil war, after all.

"I am not exactly going to impose on the people's hospitality, idiot." Helen rolled her eyes and then she apologized to the Medic-nin for speaking in English.

"At least one of you seem to have a decent idea what manners are." Yuta-sensei sniffed, slightly indignantly. "But never mind that. Brian-san told us that you come from another world, where all of this is some sort of story about ninja. Judging by your expression I can easily tell that his explanation was an honest one, Herena-san. I must say I had my doubts…given his excitability, if we can call it that."

Yuta-sensei threw a distasteful glance in Brian's direction.

"I still stand by my word that I was never trained by a medic-nin, Yuta-sensei. You see, back home, I had this acting role of…a medical ninja. The organization we're part of did many performances based on a particular book about ninja and their lifestyle. Brian's acting role was that of a Kaguya-clan member."

"You forgot the most important part, Hel. In our world, chakra doesn't exist."

That got the medic-nin to really take interest into what was being said. No chakra? That was impossible. And yet that could explain so much without even revealing any additional information. Obviously, further research was needed to be done.

"Nerd. That's a technicality. It doesn't explain our sudden expertise with things that would've taken a ninja years to learn, let alone master." The dark ash blonde bit out at her companion." It doesn't explain why we were brought to this world either. I suspect ulterior motives. Perhaps a summoning ritual of some sort or even tampering with new or foreign Fuuinjutsu. Right about now anything is possible."

"It isn't a technicality, Helen. I've spent hours researching chakra-related stuff with Fia-sempai and let me tell you, whatever or whoever imbued us with chakra imparted the necessary knowledge to operate it to the sufficient level of our cosplay, I mean roles. You can't snap your fingers and create chakra for us. It must've come from somewhere and I, for once, don't want to know where it came from."

"You are implying the use of sacrifices, Brian-san?" Yuta asked, a scowl forming on her face. "How much knowledge do you have of Fuuinjutsu?"

"Basic concepts and ideas, at best, sadly. We don't have actual seals and stuff to look at, let alone keys for seals. I do however know that summoning contracts require sacrifices of…various quality, if you catch my meaning. I've been thinking about it, a lot, even. What worries me the most is that Erza-chan isn't supposed to possess chakra in any form. She is from a different fandom, er, I mean her role is from a different story and she is supposed to possess, uhm, Youki, demonic energy of sorts."

Theorycrafting had always been the greatest tool in possession of any nerd in existence. Yuta-sensei realized to her utterly disturbed fascination that the two people before her had an in depth understanding of how chakra worked just because they were obsessed with a story about ninja. The concept of such obsessions existing to such extents sent proverbial shudders down her spine. The usually goofy and annoying Brian took his time to explain how their powers worked with minute details. It was mind boggling how he spoke with utter seriousness, all the while there was this excited, if slightly mad, spark in his eyes.

Helen was not far behind. She even referred to herself as a valuable resource. Either she was an experienced diplomat, or, which was far more likely, she had practiced haggling for many years. Indeed, they were quite valuable for the Rebel Forces. Someone in possession of skills the caliber of the Legendary Slug Princess Tsunade? Even if she had little to no actual medical education, Yuta was certain she'd be able to polish her into a sparkling diamond of medical ninjutsu excellence in no time. Then there was the Kaguya, who looked just as bloodthirsty as the original Kaguya clansmen. He'd be genuinely terrifying on any battlefield if he'd manage to maintain that bone armor of his. On a side note, she was absolutely terrified of how Terumi Mei would react to the fact he required a lot of upkeep. Maybe she already knew? With her luck, Yuta doubted that occurrence.

Finally, the dog girl was explained at length. It came as no surprise to Yuta to find her mouth dry with the horrific realization that they had a genuine demon, not a tailed beast, but a demon, in their midst. Granted, it was only a half-demon, but she had seen the carnage. Pale and feeling cold all over, she quickly jotted down all that information, already wording her lengthy report in her mind, preparing herself for another sleepless night with Terumi-sama.

**888**

"Elizabeth?"

"Oh, you must be Helen. Good evening." The white haired dog girl greeted politely as she stood up. She shook hands with the dark ashen blonde woman and nodded towards Brian. Her nervousness was somewhat obvious to the other two in her tent, but it was to be expected.

"Good evening to you too. I must say you're a lot more nicer than I'd initially thought you'd be. Then again you are British. Politeness runs through veins." With a small smile Helen sat down next to the dog girl and took the offered cup of tea.

After a bit of small talk the atmosphere finally lost its tenseness and the conversation soon turned to more serious and pressing topics.

"We've thought about this a lot and we think we know what we can do to help you with your berserk problem." Helen started off. "You see, your berserk form, as Yuta-sensei refers to it, is very similar to the various bijuu cloaks the Jinchuuriki manifest when they are in danger. While we haven't exactly disclosed how much we know about the various tailed beasts, we did have to explain some things in order to help you out."

"What Hel means to say is that we told Yuta-sensei about the First's necklace."

Both Helen and Elizabeth turned around and slightly glared at him for his unnanounced intrusion.

"Wasn't it the one that-" Erza caught up with the referred piece of jewelry.

"Yes. But you need it more. We can't have you fighting if we can't know for certain that you won't turn on us. We had to haggle our freedom quite a lot, mind you. We either fight for the rebels or we get locked up and in your case – killed."

Helen shot Brian a nasty glare.

"You could've been gentler when explaining that!"

"Uhm."

"And what would've that accomplished? We can't coddle her, you know? She's just as entitled to be aware of stuff that are going on as we are. She's not a fucking civvie, for Chtulhu's sake!"

"I'm not talking about coddling her! Being nicer about it doesn't hurt!"

"I'm right here you guys…"

"What would being nice accomplish? It's called beating about the bush – "

"**Quiet!"**

Both Brian and Helen immediately stopped bickering and looked timidly at the glaring golden orbs of the dog girl.

"So, about this necklace?"

Brian cleared his throat and continued.

"It suppresses bijuu chakra. In your case, it should prevent you from going bat shit crazy and killing everyone."

A tick appeared above Helen's left eyebrow.

"She's not going to kill anyone."

"No bickering." Erza warned with an annoyed note in her voice.

"It's going to be hard. We need to find Tsunade of all people, and she is notoriously hard to find, not to mention she's ridiculously strong to boot." Brian sighed and ran a hand through his short, spiky hair.

"We also have to train hard. I've suggested to Yuta that you should be good with a sword in your hand, given your cosplay."

"Tessaiga?" Erza literally perked up with the thought of her favourite sword. Her eyes were large and sparkling and her fluffy doggy ears were standing at attention.

That was a bit too much for Brian to handle and he snaked his way to touch and rub one of those fluffy ears, a somewhat deranged expression on his face.'

"Eep!"

SLAP!

"D-don't touch m-my ears!" Erza hissed as she shook her head violently, trying to get rid of that shuddering sensation that went all the way down her spine. Her ears were that sensitive and she was already making plans to invest into a protective hoodie. The sensation was twice as worse as someone blowing into your ear.

"Feh, moron." Helen commented.

"I think I knocked him out."

"Like I said, he is a moron."

**888**

"Look at her go." MJ deadpanned as she took a sip from her glass of water. Rose was sitting next to her, taking a break. Their eyes were following the blonde's form as she darted back and forth, doing some sort of running exercise that Itachi had given her. Sasori was not too far away and he seemed to be taking note of her progress, as Hiruko was perfectly still and unmoving.

Apparently chakra exhaustion was another one of those things that couldn't keep their rambunctious friend down.

"I still can't believe she can move after the amounts of food she devoured last night and this morning." Rose commented, eyebrows slightly raised.

It was like a sugar high if only somewhat more horrifying, in MJ's opinion. Small amounts of killer intent still perpetrated the air as Fia dashed back and forth, not looking even an inch closer to any sort of exhaustion. With Sharingan trained on her, Itachi kept track of the steady amounts of chakra oozing from her form. There were no indications of her stamina running out soon. Whatever amounts of food was still being digested, it was fueling her quite steadily, much to everyone's fascination.

"That is enough, Fiona-san." Itachi sighed. She couldn't even sit still, swaying back and forth on her heels, jumping and shifting from foot to foot. She'd flex her fingers, crack her knuckles and neck, look around and many, many other things. Just looking at that perpetual motion was tiring enough, in the Uchiha's humble opinion. Luckily, Sasori would deal with her from today on and he'd get more time to do his primary objectives.

"Do you think if we put Fia in a giant hamster wheel and attach a stick with a disco ball hanging on one end, Leader-sama would approve of the idea?" MJ idly asked her red headed companion.

"I don't know about Leader-sama, but looking at Sasori…" Rose left her sentence hanging. It wasn't a secret to any Naruto fan just how impatient the man-doll, uh, puppet was.

"He'd probably even be practical about it and use her to provide his own electricity." MJ's mouth twitched with the effort to keep a smile off of her face.

"I heard that. Brats." The Hiruko doll grumbled, making the two of them try to suppress their giggles. As per usual, their situation was strained but borderline hilarious.

Several hours later found the three women exiting their usual hospital with Fiona looking through her papers stating her clean bill of health. There was a scowl on her face, but neither MJ nor Rose were concerned about it. Fia disagreed with hospitals on a regular basis and the norm stated that she was grumpy from having to sit through extensive chakra and non-chakra related tests and examinations.

"You have to give these papers to Leader-sama and we should be finally ready to go on our first mission." Rose said as she readjusted her glasses.

"Enter."

The doors to Pein's office opened and the blonde bimbo skipped happily inside, golden locks bouncing along with her movements. Her attire, as expected for this mission, was civilian and it consisted of a simple green blouse with 3 quarters sleeves and a pleated brown skirt. While her attire wasn't of the greatest importance, it differed from MJ's and Rose's by the simple fact it wasn't ideal for travelling. In fact, Pein was certain she'd easily catch a cold with those bare legs of hers. His eyes lingered just a minute moment longer on said legs as he watched her bouncing stop at his desk.

"Leader-sama!" Fia chirped in a slightly sing-song voice. Her blue eyes were sparkling with happiness and excitement. "Here's the papers you asked for, clean bill of health and what not."

The Deva path accepted the medical documents without a word and started to diligently read through the information.

"Everything seems to be in order." Pein said as he set the medical documents aside and pulled out a folder from which he retrieved a few sheets of paper. "Give these to Sasori when you meet up with him and try not to annoy him too much. Especially you." Pein pointed warningly at Fiona.

"I won't fail you Leader-sama!" Fia squealed as she gingerly took the papers from him.

"I will keep in contact with you through Sasori. I expect the entire mission to go smoothly and you should be back in two weeks."

A stray thought passed through Fia's head. She wouldn't be able to see him for two whole weeks. It made her feel a longing for Pein and she hadn't even left for the mission yet. The Deva Path's mission briefing was short and to the point. Rose and MJ were listening intently to his words but Fia found herself staring at him, letting his image sink into her mind.

It was a rare sunny day in Ame and the rays of light were pouring through the large, spacious window that gave the best view of Amegakure. It was warm and Pein had opted to have his cloak open, revealing the simple black shirt and ninja pants he was wearing. He looked comfortable and calm, and Fia nearly sighed contently at the way his voice reverberated through her chest in the quiet office.

Finally, the briefing was done and the spell was broken. Fia felt somewhat startled as she stood up along with MJ and Rose. Her gaze quickly shifted between her two companions and Pein and that bittersweet longing inside of her squeezed at her heart.

Pein stood up from his chair, preparing to put away the folder with the medical documents. He took note of the blonde lagging behind.

"What is it?"

"Pein-sama." Fia looked slightly uncertain but she smiled brightly, warmly at him and stepped forward. He stared at her unblinkingly as she placed her palms on his shoulders and squeezed lightly, supportively. Her blue eyes were slightly shimmering and he wondered for a moment what she was up to. Something soft and warm pressed against his cheek and for a second he felt her hot breath upon his skin, not quite comprehending what had just happened. But as soon it had been there it was gone and before he knew it, Fia had left his office, that same bright smile on her face.

"See you in two weeks, Leader-sama!" were her last words, thick with emotions, some of which he could not identify on the spot.

Deaf silence surrounded him in his own office and it took him a while to remember to breathe again. He felt thunderstruck and that was perhaps the only way he could've described it.

_You do not exist. You are not what I see._

There had been this longing in her eyes. There had been concern for him. He could not see a trace of fear or that divine reverence he was regaled with all the time. Her blue eyes held warmth. Despite everything, she showed her care for him. She thought of him as a friend. Nakama.

_I was so smitten with the idea of me in this fictional world__…_

There was zest in her eyes, fire. Perhaps even adoration. He had always wondered just how genuine those eyes of hers were. They always showed every single emotion that passed her mind and they carried this allure in them that he had to admit he found to his liking.

But still…

_You do not exist._

Why did she refer to this world as fictional? It made a terrifying amount of sense. The recognition in their eyes, the way they acted around other members of Akatsuki. How they always seemed to know or guess things about them. And then there was his bond with Rose.

Perhaps he had come up with this realization months ago, but had just became aware of it. Perhaps he ignored that nagging feeling in the back of his mind because he liked the refreshing sensation that the three of them brought into his life as of late.

But really? Could it be that they came from an entirely different world? A world where they were some sort of story or franchise. That would explain their attire when they first came, their weird chakra. It explained everything up to this point.

Pein thought of Madara and wondered once again if his decision had been the right one. For the next two weeks or so the three girls would be out of sight and hopefully out of mind. The Rinnegan bearer considered them internal, and sometimes infernal, affairs, somewhat separated from Akatsuki's main goals and he hoped that that would keep the meddling old man away from them. Rose was particularly important to hide. The fact that she had Rinnegan meant that he was replaceable and knowing Madara's moods as well as he did, he'd rather have her as his own last resort than the Uchiha's.

With a quiet sigh, Pein took the folder once again and put it away. For a moment his gaze lingered on Amegakure and his hand raised to touch his cheek, where the sensation of her kiss still lingered. She would miss him for the duration of the mission. But so would he. It would be unnaturally silent and quiet about him, without her to cause undue commotion.

**888**

The time on the road was filled with idle chat, mostly from Fiona, with MJ and Rose occasionally giving their input. Sasori had deemed to remain silent for the most part, observing their behavior. Indeed, his plan had worked out brilliantly.

_**-Flashback-**_

"_Ouch! Sasori-Danna! That was my prized left buttock!" the blonde screeched, absolutely scandalized that the Puppet Master had decided to poke her with his poisonous tail. What if she got a nasty looking scar as a result? Usually she wouldn't mind, especially when Sasori or Leader-sama were concerned, but she liked her ass to look as perfect as possible, thank you very much._

"_Calm down, brat. That was just chakra poison and it has already healed." Sasori replied, absolutely uninterested in his charge's fuming and antics in general. He had learned long ago that it was best to ignore the majority of her obnoxious behavior. But he was not a man of patience, so he had secured himself a bit more peace for a while. He knew his poisons._

"_Chakra poison? Not bad, sempai." Rose commented, clearly impressed by his quick and practical solution to their fellow powerhouse._

"_Mou, it still hurt!" Fia sniffled childishly, mostly for effect. The effort earned her a whack from the flat side of Hiruko's tail._

_Understanding that she was not about to get any sympathy from any of her companions, the blonde proceeded to pout for a total of five minutes, until a butterfly fluttered by and she could not help but try to catch it. For scientific purposes, of course. If Sasori could sigh, he would've sighed many times by now. At least she was not leaking chakra all over the place from being so excited. On a side note, she might be a perfect subject for testing out new poisons. On a second side note, she'd whine through the entire testing process and he'd might just turn her into art for sanity's sake._

_**-End of Flashback-**_

"Ne, Sasori-Danna, do you get to teach us anything while we're on the road?" the blonde skipped into his field of vision. Sasori made Hiruko look side-ways at her, discovering wide, innocent looking blue eyes and slightly curly golden locks framing a pretty face. A puppy begging for food if he ever saw one.

Hiruko clicked angrily and continued on without answering.

"Meh, you can be such a scrooge Sasori-Danna." The puppet master could practically hear the pout on her face. It was at that moment in which MJ chose to chastise the blonde quietly about respecting your betters, Rose agreeing full-heartedly in the background. Good. He'd have their support when the time came and he was certain he could keep Fiona under enough control to have this whole operation run smoothly. He needed her attention at their primary task – discovering any clues related to Deidara's disappearance.

The journey so far was going better than expected. He'd thought that the three of them would try at least in some form to formulate an escape plan, but there were absolutely no signs of that being the case. Instead, the three of them spent their time absorbing their surroundings, taking in the country side and enjoying their time out of the city. Despite the chill in the air, Rose had taken off her jacket and had lowered the straps of her sleeveless shirt and the bra underneath to tan herself in the sun. She even took off her glasses, much to his dismay. He could understand her desire to not have any tan lines, but given her possession of the legendary Rinnegan, the action itself was less than savory. He had to do something about that. Perhaps teaching them the Henge would be beneficial.

There was a reason for having delayed that particular basic ninja skill. Apart from MJ's problems with harnessing her chakra reserves, there was also another, more important factor that had to be figured in. Henge was one of the most important basic ninja skills. With enough expertise with it, one could literally become someone else for a short duration of time. He had often used Henge and its various minor derivatives to cover up the joints of his human puppets, thus completely concealing himself when he had to. If Henge had been taught back in a period in which the three still had serious notions of escape, it could've been quite possible for them to make a successful attempt to get away from Ame and Rain Country in general.

Sasori could practically see them running straight for Konoha, exchanging their foreign knowledge of technology and weaponry and what not for information on the whereabouts of their friends and perhaps even for means to find a way back home. Naturally he would've been able to stop them on his own, what with his extensive spy network, but the entire fiasco would've set a lot of plans back, simply because the three of them would've become a ridiculously dangerous security breach.

Right now, however, he was fairly certain that the only reason any one of them to defect from Ame would be if anything more substantial about them was discovered. Sasori always had his suspicions, ever since he got hold of that startling fountain of information, the Bible. Rose's Rinnegan just sealed the whole deal, if he could express himself like that. Before whatever incident had thrown them into this world, she had been in possession of perfectly normal, if very pretty, stormy gray eyes. In his own view and observation, it had been Rose that had set the precedent that he was seeing before him. Unlike the red-headed woman, the change was a lot more gradual within her two companions. There was a reason for that as well, he was certain, but he couldn't voice an opinion (even if it was only to himself) until he could gather more data.

Fiona had gradually turned from almost civilian to a dangerously overpowered chakra powerhouse with a very hazardous variation of the Kage Bunshin and some dabbling in Fuuinjutsu. There was something feral bubbling just beneath the surface, slowly growing stronger and more powerful. It was a frightening notion. A stray Bijuu, a tenth Jinchuuriki. A wild card that could set things completely off-balance. On one hand, he could easily imagine her as a backup replacement for the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. But would she even be compatible with the other Bijuu and Jinchuuriki? It would lead to an utter catastrophe if for some reason or the other the Bijuu would turn out completely incompatible with the statue that had been prepared for the extraction of all the tailed beasts. The more he thought about it, the more he agreed with his initial assessment to keep this crucial discovery of his a secret.

Finally, there was the Keats girl, a progeny of many generations of doctors from a land called England. Fragile and gentle at first glance, she was quite the wiry weed, if he could compare her gem in the dirt to something as mundane as a weed. Despite everything, Michael persevered, all with that air of nobility and grace that only select few were capable to produce naturally. The woman possessed the Sharingan or he'd be damned if she didn't. Everything about her, save for the pale blue eyes, screamed Uchiha, even if she hadn't been Itachi's top cosplayer. A powerful martial artist, a level headed and cunning person – that was what she was. He'd work on unlocking that Sharingan as soon as they were out of Rain, which would be in two days at the pace they currently had. Their official destination was just outside of the Rain Country border, a small village. He had prepared extensively for the entire trip and, true to his own nature, he could barely wait to reap the results of his machinations.

**888**

_**-Kiri Rebel Encampment, four months after first contact-**_

Despite the initial worry that Elizabeth wouldn't be able to use actual Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, the case turned out to be completely different. With main Wind Affinity and secondary Water, her progress had easily skyrocketed, rushing through the tree climbing and water walking exercises, the three basic ninja skills – Henge, Kawarimi and Bunshin, and series of D to C ranked Genjutsu. She was also rapidly improving with the local language. Skill-wise, both Helen and Brian were eons ahead of her but she was catching up. Yuta hoped that that stubbornness of hers would help her persevere through heavier combat without unleashing that demonic berserker state. Increasing that threshold had been a very slow process but with her improving Taijutsu, the half-demon girl managed to keep her level-headedness in battle and incidents were becoming less and less common. Soon she'd be able to help out adequately in her combat capacity. Fetching heavy boxes and what not got a person only so far, even if her help, along with Helen's, made rebuilding the camp after moving ridiculously fast.

Despite the tedious progress in regards of her berserking state, Terumi-sama was actually impressed with what Yuta had managed to achieve with Erza. Civilians took time to build up the needed aggression to become useful ninja and those who did not were dropped out of the program. To have the half-demon girl working at this level of proficiency was highly encouraging that they'd be able to solve her problem soon enough.

Still, Yuta just couldn't agree with a clear conscience that her newly appointed team was ready for any kind of missions. Especially Erza. Their mission was clear, however. Go to Takumi Village in River Country. Usually ninja were able to provide for their own weapons from their own villages, but when one was a missing nin or a rebel, Takumi village had always been the one to turn to, due to their excellent craftsmanship.

It was early evening when Yutaka called her so called students. She stood by the entrance of her tent, waiting calmly and patiently for Erza, Brian and Helen to assemble. Erza was easiest to spot. She wore a slate gray hoodie and dark male ninja pants along with black ninja sandals. Her hood was currently down and her stark white hair and dog ears could easily be discerned among the general populace of this particular encampment. Despite all the hardships, the girl carried herself with confidence and power, all the while being a friendly and cheerful presence. The half-demon girl for all intents and purposes was an utterly normal pretty young woman, if that bespectacled boy accompanying her was any indication.

"Good evening, Yutaka-sensei." Erza greeted with a slight bow. She then turned to the boy next to her. " Thank you for escorting me, Chojuro-kun."

Said boy turned a bright shade of pink that contrasted horribly with his hair color and after mumbling a few incoherent words dashed away.

"Making friends?" Yuta asked slyly with a raised eyebrow and a small note of amusement in her voice.

"Well, yes, Yutaka-sensei. Chojuro-kun and I were assigned in the same builders' squad today and we hit it off brilliantly, if I may say so."

"He's a serious and talented ninja with a great future ahead of him, that Chojuro boy. And pathologically shy around pretty things. Hm." Yuta shook her head and motioned Erza inside her tent.

There was a gentle but cold breeze that evening and even if she was used to the somewhat swift and unpleasant weather changes, that did not mean she'd needlessly expose herself to the elements.

"Erza-san, make some of that tea of yours while we wait for your team-mates. I have a few more medical reports to sift through and might as well make myself useful in the meantime."

The dog girl wordlessly and with practiced ease made her way to the small kitchen-like area where there was a makeshift wooden shelf with some metal and wooden dishes, bowls and cups, a pan, a pot with a lid, a slightly dented metal kettle and a bit more dented metal teapot. To one side of that shelf was a wooden box with an assortment of various dried herbs and dried pieces of fruit on top of it. Inside the wooden box was a small icebox container where Yutaka kept some of the more sensitive medicinal ingredients that she commonly used, a bottle of sake and, funnily enough, some ice cream for when the stress would become a bit too much. On the other side of the makeshift wooden shelf was some sort of weird crafted water container which had been broken and repaired numerous times for the months they had been there. It's job was to filter salt water, as most islands in Water country were mostly devoid of great sweet water sources. And all of those sources sprouted various villages and settlements that had to be avoided by the rebel forces. Brian had named the odd contraption Old Crabby since it really looked like a crab, what with the small tubes and containers attached to it. He had professed his fondness for the machine on numerous occasions. The thought brought a smile on her face as she filled the tea-kettle with water.

Yutaka-sensei's tent was full of odd nick-knacks, some reminiscent of gadgets and tools from around the early 30ies to the late 40ies of Earth, while other things were completely alien looking, such as a very shabby-looking device which had the function of a monitoring machine that measured the chakra levels and currents and what not in different parts of the body. Brian found that machine to be incredibly wicked and Yuta had threatened him on multiple occasions not to touch any of her delicate apparatus _**(**__**A/N: yes apparatus is also the plural form of apparatus in the English language. I've checked it several times.)**_.

Among all the strange things within Yutaka-sensei's things there was that single little single hotplate that the medic nin used for laboratory purposes, to cook herself small meals and also, as it would be used now, for tea. The hot plate was connected to some sort of generator that had Brian ecstatic for days. Apparently the Kiri Rebel Forces, after having been pushed by circumstances to switch locations every so often, had to figure out some sort of practical way to supply themselves with electricity and some other basic things. Such a way had shown up via a traveling and extremely eccentric ex-nin who had spent a good part of the last 5 years of his life in the western lands. From the simplified explanation that Brian gave her and Helen, the dog girl found out that their encampment was in possession of five and a half(the sixth had blown up or something) prototypes of what Brian had determined to be diesel generators.

Said technologically superior ninja was currently residing with another rebel encampment where he prepared some sort of bio diesel concoction. The portable generators gave the rebels the much needed edge in fighting and Erza had even heard rumors that there were plans of moving their forces entirely to sea.

Yutaka's generator also powered a small refrigerator with various blood samples and what not that required a very specific temperature, a small makeshift radio that was quietly playing some local music station and a very much appreciated little heater that had been set to warm the area with Yutaka's desk and futon. For Erza, that generator, and the single hotplate that was powered by it, was like a home away from home. It reminded her that this world, while so alien in so many ways, was not so different from her own and sometimes, when she'd fall asleep in Yuta's tent, she could almost imagine herself in her own humble apartment, resting after her long and tedious workday.

The kettle had reached boiling point and Erza took it off the hotplate and poured some of the water in the teapot to heat it up. She left the tea pot for a moment and took out several metal cups and placed them on the low table by Yutaka's futon. She then emptied the teapot and put some of the mixture of herbs she had prepared a week or so ago. It wasn't exactly Earl Gray, but it was very similar, as the main ingredient for it was a cousin of sorts to the plant used for making white, green and black tea. Given Kiri's cold weather, Erza doubted she'd find anything closer to the typical British Earl Gray tea.

As she poured boiling water in the teapot, the flap of Yutaka's tent's entrance was set aside and Brian poked his head inside.

"Yo, Snoop-puppy and Teacher!" he greeted in his usual exuberant way, making Erza's doggy ears twitch in annoyance and Yutaka to give a quiet and tired sigh. "Sorry for being late, Sensei dearest! Mora-san wanted to test out some new tags and we got carried away."

Yuta chuckled silently, shaking her head slightly.

"If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you actually have some idea how to make Explosion tags without blowing yourself up. But since I know you quite well, then I'd say that Mora-san wanted to test out some new tags and you just happened to get carried away watching the fireworks." Yuta paused for a moment but then added for good measure. "And her ass."

Brian pouted childishly while Erza sniggered, handing him a cup of improvised Earl Gray tea.

"Thanks, Betty!" the bone user took the cup from her and smiled gratefully, all the while using one of the gazillion nicknames he had for her.

" You're welcome, Brian." Erza said curtly.

" It is slightly unusual that Herena-san is late." Yuta took a careful sip from her cup and then shifted some papers in front of her.

"Kagura-chan fried Ishida-kun's left arm with a Raiton Jutsu the other day so maybe she's attending the healing process." Erza said. " Helen said something about learning more about healing nerve damage earlier today."

"Sorry I am late, Sensei!" a slightly breathless Helen suddenly ran inside, dark ash blonde hair wet, skin damp and holding a thick puffy towel in one hand. " I was taking a bath."

"No worries, Herena-san. Now sit down and drink your tea before it gets cold."

Under normal circumstances punctuality was very important, even for mission debriefings. But their current assignment was more of a training trip than an actual mission, even if it was an actual and important mission. Still, their team dynamic was rather homey and unique. At first, her three students stuck to each other like frightened ducklings, even if they spent every waking minute together fighting over one thing or the other. All three of them had dominant personalities and rubbed each other the wrong way. Erza had a more head on approach, while Helen preferred to be more passive and roundabout to reach her goals. Brian was absolutely obnoxious at times and not to mention uncouth. Yuta had been certain she had grown gray hairs by the end of their first month together. Slowly, but surely, however, they started to trust each other, much like what happened with actual genin teams and she had found their antics somewhat endearing, after a very long period of feeling utterly, nerve-grittingly annoyed.

"Terumi-sama has given us an assignment." Yuta started, all the while still working on the medical reports. She did not show her displeasure with sending their team to do this. She still believed they were not ready for such a long distance assignment. But someone had to do it, and her team just happened to be the least costly one. "We are to reach Takumi Village in River Country and buy an assortment of supplies. As you know, we are currently here, on Shimatsu Island."

Yutaka pointed at their location. It was the island straight to the east from the central island of Water Country.

"We are to take a trade ship from the north coast that will get us to Kumo. From there we are to take a ferry past the former Land of Whirlpools into Fire Country." Yutaka pointed at the map again and dragged her finger across the narrow section of Fire Country. " After a three days trek to the harbor on the other side, we take a third Ferry to the Land of Rivers."

There was a noticeable beat of silence.

"Why do we have to go all the way to Kumo?" Brian suddenly asked, taking a very good look at the map and a slight frown marring his face.

"The southern sea is too well guarded at the moment. The Fourth Mizukage has full control in that area. It'd be suicide to go through there." Yutaka answered as if it were the most obvious thing. "Prepare for a month's worth trip. Herena-san, I want you here at 6 o'clock in the morning. I need to set you up with several sealing scrolls for medical emergencies. Brian-san, Erza-san, I will be expecting you by the main entrance at 8 o'clock sharp. And please remember to bring both your flak-jackets and your Hitai-ate. Kiri's relations with Kumo, especially if we're just passing through their harbour for a day or so, may not be as strict as you might expect, but that doesn't mean I want to embarrass Terumi-sama with your forgetfulness."

A pointed glare was aimed at Brian.

"What? It was an honest to God accident! It happened that one time only and you are still baking my ass for it! Sheesh!

"You almost had the entire camp compromised, moron." Erza growled, ears pointed backwards and sharp white canines bared.

"I said I was sorry, okay? Can't you give me a break, Scooby?"

Golden eyes narrowed to slits.

"No."

Yutaka sighed tiredly. This was not the first time, nor the last time they would be having this argument. Helen merely sipped her tea and pointedly ignored the bickering between her two team-mates. It was around 10 o'clock in the evening when they left Yutaka's tent and headed to their respective beds.

Morning came too soon but all three of them were appropriately groomed and fresh by the time 8 am rolled by. They wore standard Kiri Chuunin flak-jackets,seeing as they were designated a Chuunin rank not too long ago. It was an interesting bit of information for Brian that the ninja from the various countries had something of a stylized military uniform. It wasn't as if he hadn't know anything about it from before he arrived here with Helen and Elizabeth, but what he actually found interesting and fascinating, was that the ninja and the samurai of a country made a large part of a Daimiyo's military force. The Kirigakure ninja had several standard issue uniforms that were designated for the various types of climates all around the Elemental Continent.

The most common standard issue Kirigakure Chuunin uniform consisted of a slate gray flak jacket, dark ninja pants with either ninja sandals or fully covered and insulated ninja boots, especially designed for Kiri's cold and humid weather. The dark ninja pants varied from black, through various hues of gray, dark green and dark blue and several other such colors that were right at home in Kiri. The tops were usually made of some sort of woolen knitted material that was multi-layered with long sleeves and a turtle neck. There were also various protectors and plates that were used, along with various fishnet designs and woolen wrappings that kept certain more exposed areas somewhat warm.

The standard issue Kirigakure kit also included an assortment of breathing masks, several different types of bladed weapons, such as the more common Tanto and various types of short swords. Senbon were also present and spears and long-swords were not an unlikely sight, either. Especially the long-swords.

There was, however, the distinct lack of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist's presence. Whether they were not present in this particular encampment, or none of the remaining ones were actually part of the Rebel forces, the three trans-dimensional travelers were not privy to such information.

"Good morning, my wonderfully professional she-hulks! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the mist is as thick as my- Oof! I was going to say pea soup, Odie! Pea soup! The pea soup I ate for breakfast. Ugh, my eggs." Brian promptly doubled over and fell on the ground as Erza had irritably kicked him in the family jewels.

"Morning to you too, then, pea-brain." Erza grumbled, exhaling in exasperation.

The Inuyasha girl readjusted her Hitai-ate Bandana that covered her doggy ears. Her hair was tied into a long and thick braid to be out of the way and simply because she loved braids. She wore her slate gray flak-jacket completely buttoned up with a dark turtleneck long-sleeved , shirt made of a thick but soft material underneath. She also wore the standard issue black ninja pants with a pair of combat boots that were black with thick soles. She had knee-protectors and elbow protectors made of a matted gray material. All in all, she was dressed for close combat situations, armed with plated gloves and a standard issue Kirigakure Katana.

Helen wore similar clothing, save for lack of elbow and knee protectors. Her hair was pulled up in a small bun and she wore her forehead protector around her neck. She was currently busy looking at a small map, committing it to memory.

When Yutaka showed up a few minutes later, Brian noted that all four of them wore almost identical attires. He scratched his head and shrugged. Kiri was all about stealth and ambush and since they were sorta on the potentially high profile list, it was only sensible to try and blend in as much as possible. While white hair wasn't exactly common, it wasn't uncommon among the ninja either. Strangely colored hair, skin and eyes and a few other visual quirks were actually a mark of either a budding bloodline mutation or just some really nice awesome ninja career potential. Or something of the sort. Brian hadn't been too keen on following that particular nerd speech from Helen. With Elizabeth's bandana and his own hitai-ate hiding his trademark Kaguya red spots, they were practically inconspicuous as far as shinobi went. After all who would be stupid enough to wear bright and distinct colors and clan markings and what not? Sure, if you were stong enough to wear a pink tutu, go ahead and do it, just don't complain when your team gets killed because you managed to get the enemy's attention.

There was also that interesting little fact that main characters in a story had to have their own style and themes and what not, but it was hardly practical in the real ninja life. Brian couldn't help but feel smug about that particular notion. All three of them had gone for the standard Kiri Shinobi gear without Yuta saying anything, and she had been particularly satisfied by their choice. A healer, Yutaka, a tank, himself, a bruiser, Helen, and an ADC (attack damage carry), which was, naturally, Bad-ass Beagle Betty (she had nearly ripped him a new one for that nickname, and, for the gazillionth time, had explained that she was half Akita demon, thus it was bellow her to be compared to a stinky Beagle). Essentially, they were a pretty rounded team.

Brian looked at his hands and examined the custom protectors he was wearing. Terumi Mei had personally ordered them to help him further develop his tanky style while not revealing his bloodline limit. The design was pretty neat and probably expensive too. The protectors looked almost like ordinary armored gloves, but apparently had several extra layers of expensive alloy mesh that was supposed to be able to withstand hits from stuff and big as bastard swords and the like.

Yuta-sensei motioned for them to start moving and their fast-paced trek towards the northern coast of this island began. They'd reach their first stop by the end of the day if they kept up their speed, so long as they were not ambushed by Bloody Mist patrols. They were silent and careful, their dark colored gear hiding them well among the thick gray mists that seemed to be everywhere that morning. It was a natural mist, however. It had been several months ago that they had been forced to learn quickly the difference between a natural and a chakra saturated mist. It hadn't been easy, but was probably one of the most useful skills they had gained in their arsenal. Well, one of the most useful, along with water walking.

While the weather was perpetually cold and humid, the waters were rather warm and teeming with life. Hell, he had seen sharks in the water, which was kinda incredible given the fact that the Kiri Archipelago was like Britain 2.0. Naturally, Brian had asked how come that was possible. While Yutaka's answer had been vague, simply because she really didn't understand what exactly he was asking, it had been enough of an answer for him to gather that not only was Kiri Britain 2.0, but it was also Iceland 2.0. Dormant volcanic activity all over the place. One look at the map of Kiri itself, and he had been this close to crying like a little girl. The archipelago that was Kiri, consisted of a large central island, surrounded by a myriad of smaller islands. If one took away the water from the entire area, they would've seen numerous underwater volcanoes and volcanic, lava spewing cracks amidst the humongous caldera that was the Kiri Archipelago. The Central Island was something of a resurgent dome, if his memory concerning such geological phenomena was fresh enough.

Brian had asked if Kiri had problems of the volcanic sort. Aside from frequent tsunamis he didn't receive any other answers. Inside his mind there were near infinite scenarios portraying all the different and horrific ways Kiri would pop like a zit on the face of God. These thoughts really wanted to make him cry like a little girl.

Yet again he shook his head and concentrated on his current task. In twenty or so minutes they'd arrive at the northern coast where they'd use the cover of the night and the mist to reach something of a ship outpost somewhere at sea and from there they'd board some sort of Trading Ferry whose crew was consisted of Rebel sympathizers or something of the sort. Apparently Yutaka had some sort of additional tasks concerning the person in charge of the rebel platform at sea and they would spend their second night there before heading out to Kumo.

The Rebel forces had an interesting and a very effective way of keeping themselves safe from the Bloody Mist. Most of their troops resided on such platforms that were at sea, with some sort of underwater cabins and what not going on in there. It wasn't just Brian who was excited to see these strange marine settlements – both Helen and Erza were eager to sight-see these Water World- esque contraptions.

They had arrived via a small boat during the early afternoon of their second day. At first nothing could be seen save for the thinning mist that seemed to disperse they further they went from the island. Then the hairs at the back of Helen's neck raised and she announced she sensed some sort of chakra pulse which they were somewhat rapidly approaching.

Of all three of them, Yutaka had said, Helen had been the one with the keenest sense for chakra and, obviously, the finest control. It was after her proclamation that Brian concentrated on that prickly and slightly ticklish feeling that felt so foreign and strange to his senses. At first he had likened it to the sensation one felt right before free-falling – the effects of a negative G-force. It was not quite the same but it was the closest that he could come up with.

Brian nearly jumped out of his skin when a ninja suddenly jumped out of the water, clad in a modified insulated diver's suit, or at least something that looked like it, some sort of scaly looking silverfish gray protectors on his arms and legs, an utility belt, a combined goggles and breather mask. He also had fin like contraptions on his arms and legs, sticking out from the protectors.

The ninja removed the mask revealing a masculine, middle-aged face with a light brown stubble and blue-green eyes.

"Your brats are rather jumpy, Yutaka." the man said in a deep voice and Brian grudgingly noted the way the doggy she-hulk's ears twitched. He tried not to scold at the fact that the man had ovary-bursting qualities to his voice.

"Especially that one." the man pointed directly at Brian and the bone user immediately had to come up with at least a hundred excuses as to why turning the man into shark bait was a bad idea.

"Now, now, Shiro, you know how the saying goes about poking a Kaguya." Yuta lightly chastised the man, whom she obviously knew.

Helen placed a hand on Brian's shoulder and he stopped himself from grinning like a mad man. This Shiro's reaction towards Yuta's words was rather strange. Usually when the word Kaguya and himself were mentioned in the same sentence, people had a this weird and rather fearful reaction. Of course, there was also this saying in Kiri, which was similar to poking a sleeping dragon. It had many variations, such as never mess with a Kaguya, don't poke a happy Kaguya and what not. Hell, he'd heard so many of those saying he wondered how his ears hadn't been bleeding at the end. And then Helen just had to quip that his ears had been desensitized by his own talking years ago. Helen could be a snarky little bitch like that and even if he was a smart ass he knew that he was outnumbered three to one and it would be stupid to pick a fight, even a verbal one, with a woman. Sometimes it sucked major whale balls to be the only guy among a team of females that went off like nukes once a month. Of course, Brian also rarely stopped himself from talking, so somehow he had ended up revealing the rather obvious similarities between werewolves and women.

But that was a bit off topic.

Brian took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His she-hulks were good girls and even if that bastard was the fucking Dragonborn (a strange association Brian made between the mans' ungodly deep and sexy voice and the power of the Thuum), they'd be loyal and stick to him. He kinda hoped. Still, judging by the man's reaction, he hadn't understood that Brian was an actual, honest to God living and breathing Kaguya with an active bloodline. Perhaps he'd casually remove his Hitai-ate at some point with him present to have him stare wide-eyed and fearful. It was a simple, good plan and those type of plans tended to work almost always.

The trip to the marine settlement was short, with Shiro using a series of hand signs to create a small hole into the barrier that literally turned the settlement invisible. The constructions were just as awesome as they had imagined it to be. The main body of the settlement consisted of various platforms that formed a very rough U-shape, the inside of which was some sort of harbor. It was lightning years better than the shabby and scrap made constructs from the Water World movie and Helen and Erza giggled and squealed quietly with excitement. Even Yuta was smiling lightly at their enthusiasm.

Brian noticed that there were constructions underwater, as well as 1-story high small buildings on top of the platform. He supposed that the marine settlement's stability was based somewhat around the way icebergs acted. He also noted that most of the boats and what not were small and speed oriented. Some used wind to propel themselves, while he noted others to be in possession of motors of some sort. They were nothing fancy, but he noted the specific looking paint used on all of the boats. It was a smooth but matted color that did not reflect light. On closer inspection he realized it oddly reminded him of America's stealth based designs for air-crafts. These boats probably worked on the same principle. He noted that they didn't possess any actual weapons of any sort. They were just the bare design, used exclusively to quickly transport ninja over water. Whatever they were used for by the ninja, they spelled awesome in Brian's book of awesome stuff he has seen so far.

Yuta seemed to have been here before and she was ahead of their little group along with the person who had lead the boat till now. Helen, Erza and himself were a little bit behind. Yuta was talking very very quietly and he couldn't quite catch what they were talking about, but he was fairly certain Erza would share if it was of any consequence. Then again Yuta was a Jounin and it was more than just a little likely for her to be talking in some sort of code or something of the sort. Helen can tell him he was a paranoid bastard all she wanted but he knew that it wasn't paranoia if it was real. Soon enough another ninja joined their little group and Yuta bowed respectfully which meant the three of them had to follow almost immediately. The man was tall and important looking, not to mention strict. He was yet another ninja none of them had ever seen before, even in the manga or anime, but from what they had seen so far, the Kiri Rebel forces did not have a single head, but something of a council of very important people who coordinated their attacks and generally actions. Like a multi-headed hydra.

Yuta and the man exchanged some small pleasantries and the very important man took a few seconds to scrutinize each and everyone of them with his sharp gaze. Without further word, Yuta and the man departed, leaving them with Shiro, who escorted them to their rooms. With a small wave and a charming smile, Shiro left. All three of them moved to one of their two rooms and made themselves as comfortable as they could.

It was a small room with two rooms and a desk and an almost miniature bathroom with only a toilet and a shower right above the toilet. Apparently one had to sit on the toilet to take a shower. Not uncomfortable but still quite small. The room itself, however was well insulated and it was warm inside. There were several small round windows that had a view mostly of the harbor and a bit of the other box-like constructs that were nearby.

"Who do you think was that man?" Erza asked, while looking out the window. Her ears had perked up and Brian noticed how there were moving from position to position, similar to a real dog's taking in the various sounds from the various directions. " He didn't look like someone we've seen."

"That's because he isn't. He did look important, though, and in good terms with Yuta." Helen stated.

"Do you think he knows who we are? I mean-" Brian started but Helen cut through his words, already knowing what he was asking.

"I don't doubt he knows who we are. Did you see the way he looked at us. I had the feeling he was trying to take us into his mind the way he was staring. Yuta-sensei didn't seem worried though. He's supposed to be a trustworthy person then."

"Important at the very least." Erza added thoughtfully. "I think he might be one of the council."

The council wasn't exactly an official designation, but it was what the three of them called the leaders of the resistance. Even after so many months spent among the Rebel forces, they barely knew anything about the higher circles of power among the Rebels. Terumi Mei was obviously one of them. She was a very smart woman and a brilliant leader and tactician over all. It was quite obvious why she would eventually become the fifth Mizukage. Everybody else, however, was a complete mystery to the poor inter-dimensional travelers. The topic of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was avoided religiously, though Yuta did say once that she had worked with Momochi Zabuza once. And Momochi Zabuza was another thing. He was a known missing nin and the way things were clearly pointed that he was not working with neither Bloody Mist or the Rebel forces. He was also extremely dangerous, possibly on Hatake Kakashi's level.

That night Momochi Zabuza's name came up more than once or twice. They were certain that if they could help it, they'd try to contact him and place him among the Rebel forces. If anyone was capable of finding him, it would be Erza, who was spending some of her time in learning the various scents.

The morning came too soon, with Brian feeling vaguely sea sick, to his female teammates' annoyance. Especially Erza, who had to share a room with him. Brian hoped to get some ass to kick soon enough as he needed to vent some frustration. There was nothing more embarrassing for a Kiri ninja than sea sickness. Luckily, Yuta-sensei was nice enough to use some sort of medical technique to set his stomach at least for a few hours.

The chill-wind held up until noon and Yuta seemed to be slightly nervous with their trading ferry being late. Finally, around 2 o'clock a small boat appeared and their sensei visibly relaxed.

"Sorry for the delay, Hirano-dono, we had to go around a storm but we got caught up and had to wait it out. Luckily it's over the land to the east now, so we shouldn't worry about it. Captain sends his regards!"

Brian, Helen and Erza blinked. The man was somewhat above middle-age with heavily gray streaked beard, a blue cap, bluish-black pants and striped sailor's shirt. The guy looked like someone out of Moby-dick or some such marine induced novel.

"Awesome." Brian mumbled.

Naturally, Erza heard and promptly whacked him for being disrespectful.

"Two girls in one team, Hirano-dono? Usually it's two boys, right?" The sailor chuckled and gently slapped Brian's shoulder." Watch it, boy, or those ladies will rule over you, one of them probably for the rest of your life." the sailor winked and said lady teammates burst out into giggles as Brian groaned at the old man's insinuation. And he had been looking forward to going on this mission too.

The trading ferry was a thing of beauty, a rather large ship with various containers for goods stacked on top. She looked brand new with a large and expert crew. The Captain was a middle-aged man whom Brian immediately pegged for a ninja undercover. He was getting pretty good at 'Guess the Ninja' game nowadays and no one was that awesome without at least a speck on ninjaness in him or her.

"She's somewhat modern looking." Erza commented to Brian and Helen.

" State of the art, in fact!" the old sailor stated proudly, not exactly catching the spirit of Erza's comment.

By slightly modern she had meant somewhat after World War Two technology, possibly late 60ies.

"Titanic, anyone?" Brian blurted out with a grin.

"Don't jinx it, you moron!" Helen scowled.

"You she-hulks hurt my tender manly feelings all the time." Brian sighed dramatically at which three pairs of female eyes rolled in amusement.

"Maybe if you said sensible and proper things more often that whatever stupidity runs loose from that mental assignment that is your head, we'd be more considerate." Erza admonished with an almost serious tone. "Then again it wouldn't be you, so either way we lose."

"Finally some words of appreciation from the Dalmatian!"

Erza whacked him.

Twice for good measure.

The team boarded the vessel with little to no hassle and soon enough she was sailing away north, to a much friendlier and sunnier weather. It would be days before they'd reach the mainland of Kumo.

**888**

**- Earth Country, Undisclosed location -**

" Are you certain this would work?" Onoki asked the man before him. It's been months but he hoped that his seal master crew had come up with a strong enough design to contain the demon that had been locked up in the deepest dungeon Iwa could conjure up.

"There is always a chance the target would be able to overpower this design as he had the others, but we've consulted several old texts, including ones from the Great Earth Temple. After a lot of research we decided to go with...something unconventional."

Unconventional. That word made Onoki to almost hold his breath. While ninja lived and breathed the word as a form of law and a way of survival of the fittest, among the seal masters unconventional often corresponded with the word innovation. And innovation in the seal master's vocabulary was a synonym for trial and error. Death. It was only natural for Onoki to respond the way he did.

" What kind of _unconventional _methods are we talking about?" he narrowed his eyes, his voice as cold as ice.

" Instead of one seal, we decided to use a multitude of the same design." the man pulled out one of the scrolls and showed it to the Tsuchikage. While not an expert in the obscure field of sealing, Onoki was adept enough to understand what he was seeing.

"Circular odd-number seal. You've used the number nine as your prime here."

"Well, yes, Tsuchikage-sama. It is, after all, the strongest number if we compare the target to the most powerful of the bijuu. Considering the symbolism behind the number, we based this design not on a suppressor but rather – well, you can see these nine identical sequences that are equally spread out. They power the circular designs all the while amplifying the effects all the way up to the ninth circle, which, as you can see it outward."

Onoki nodded thoughtfully, looking at the tedious product of fifteen men for the last two months or so.

"This design here" the seal master pulled out another sheet of paper and Onoki looked at it as well. " Is supposed to lock with the previous one, thus creating a sphere-"

"A three-dimensional seal?" Onoki asked, taking a very close look at both papers. " The central constructs are different and the outer circles seem to be the opposite- You are inducing a chakra field bubble?"

"We discovered the phenomenon by accident. The Demon's energy will circumvent the seal itself. Whatever penetrates it will be sucked in, filtered and used by the seal itself, powering it further. The more the target fights, the harder it will get." The man grinned triumphantly. "But that isn't even the unconventional part we were talking about, Onoki-sama."

The Tsuchikage's brows raised.

" Really now? Then what is?"

" The plan is to place the design within specially designed hollow prayer beads that will later be sanctified, one by one by the Head Monk of the Great Earth Temple. All of the seals will be keyed in to certain individuals. Individual beads can be keyed to different people, however, the beads will all work simultaneously together."

_**(A/N: the Seals are inspired Earth's Magnetic field.)**_

" It sounds too good to be true."

"It does. Sadly, with this design the best we could hope for is temporarily subduing the target. It would give us enough time to do whatever there is to do." _Evacuate the village._

" I see. How long will it take to prepare the the beads?"

The seal master suppressed the urge to cringe.

"We were hoping that Tsuchikage-sama would be kind enough to lend us the help of two certain individuals." the man couldn't help but show some meekness by the end of his request.

Onoki blinked.

Was this seal master before him really asking to borrow chakra from Han and Roshi?

Onoki blinked again.

The silence was so thick that if a pin had dropped it would've been heard with crystal clarity.

Onoki repressed the urge to cringe.

Roshi was almost as hard headed as himself and he had barely managed to convince the man to at least keep some contact with the village in order to keep him off the missing nin list. Han was still around, but despite his polite and friendly demeanor, he despised humanity in general and Onoki was certain that it would take a hell of a lot of persuasion to get him to even agree to donate chakra for the beads. If he told him they'd be used for the demon, he'd hate the village even more. If he said something else, he'd think that they were making the beads to subdue the jinchuuriki themselves. It was a lose-lose situation, with a damn Dog demon hanging in on a thin thread in between, threatening to fall all over Iwagakure.

Either way it was going to be a pain to get the two jinchuuriki to agree.

Onoki sighed heavily and then ground his teeth in frustration. He ignored the beads of sweat that had formed on the seal master's face. The man had a good reason to be nervous when his leader reacted like that. Not that he had been expecting anything different.

"Isn't there another way to power the seals?" Onoki finally asked and the man before him let out a breath of relief. He wouldn't be experiencing the wrath of the Great Fence Sitter. For now.

"It would take too long. Our data from previous attempts have lead us to understand that nothing less that a jinchuuriki level power boost would be enough."

"Hmm." Onoki grumbled thoughtfully and looked at the designs again.

He knew that this was their best bet to get that damn Dog Demon into their arsenal. The man, well, demon really, was powerful enough to keep even Han on his toes. No wonder they've designed this thing with the Kyuubi in mind, even though he had no idea how exactly that reference would come into play. But sealing was weird and irrational like that. The seal masters knew what they were doing and, finally, Onoki decided on a course of action.

**888**

The weather was nice and sunny, with only the barest hint of cold within the light breeze that was blowing all the way from the south-east. There was the delicate mixed scent of rain and forest and a middle-aged red-haired man took a deep and calming breath. It had been a god-send to find this little secluded area. With a bit of Lava manipulation, he was able to temporarily turn these cold mountain ponds into a lovely hot bath. The man stretched and sunk deep into the water, all the way until his lower lip nearly touched the steamy surface of the hot spring water.

This? This was utter bliss. Surrounded by nothing but nature, it could be nothing else but bliss with relaxing himself after his long training session.

Naturally, it just had to be in this particular moment that he had to be interrupted. As the ninja approached, Roshi sighed and scowled before getting out of the water and began drying and dressing himself.

"Yoton no Roshi-san." the messenger ninja spoke.

It was a female messenger ninja from Iwagakure. She didn't seem disturbed one bit by staring at the short man's firm naked behind. Neither did he, though.

"What is it?" he asked, almost disinterestedly, but still letting enough of his annoyance to be shown.

"Onoki-sama requests your presence for a matter of great importance. No further details are given." The messenger ninja took out a small scroll and handed it to Roshi, who had been rubbing his hair with a towel.

The red-haired man hung the towel on one shoulder and opened the scroll. Indeed, it bore Onoki's personal seal and the handwriting was his as well. Not that it wasn't impossible to replicate it, but that was why a messenger ninja was used in the first place. The information from the scroll was still quite vague and practically useless, but the gist of it was about a matter of national security.

Since neither he nor the other jinchuuriki, Han, had done anything to his knowledge, that meant that whatever this matter was, was related to that 'Security Breach' incident as it was known. Roshi didn't know exactly what had happened and wild rumors were flying everywhere, but he did know that some men were trespassing and only one of them survived, only to be captured by the combined forces of Iwagakure's best. The entire business screamed of jinchuuriki to him. Perhaps one of the other Jinchuuriki had tried to invade? He had no idea really, but whatever had happened, he had to go back and see what was wanted from him.

Self-imposed exile or not, his training could wait for a week or two. He was still an Iwagakure ninja, he had his duty to the village and he'd be damned if that bastard Han showed him up one way or the other. He may have one less tale than the other one, but he was still the superior Jinchuuriki of the two.

**888**

Onoki knew that there was going to be a lot of shouting in the foreseeable hour or two. Han was going to be in his office at any moment and he expected him to be full of hot air, literally, the moment he finds out why he had been called exactly. On one hand, had this been a regular meeting in which he'd hand out a mission, this jinchuuriki would've been the more agreeable of the two. The more agreeable by far, even. But Han just so happened to get strange ideas in his head, especially considering what the bearer of the 5-tails referred to as Jinchuuriki Rights.

The last time the topic was brought up, Onoki had nearly blown up his office in frustration. Of course, his back and his lousy hips had thankfully gotten in the way, even though at the time he hadn't been thankful at all. That argument, then, had been what he could describe as the worst 30 minute marriage he had ever had in his life. Period.

"Tsuchikage-sama." Han greeted as he bowed lightly to Onoki.

Here goes nothing...

**888**

"Wake up."

"Hmm. I'm awake."

A pair of golden eyes flickered open and stared calmly into Kurotsuchi. Even after all this time, she was still nervous about him.

"You were asleep! If you find my story-telling and book-reading boring then I won't be doing it any more!" the Kunoichi stated sternly with a scowl on her face.

Jack chuckled softly and smiled. She was a good story-teller. She had this quality to her that made her reading out loud oh so pleasant and calming and relaxing. It was a nice sensation and her voice was something that he was willing to concentrate on. He considered her a friend, given the amount of time they've spent in this hell hole and she happened to be the only thing that made this...extended incarceration even somewhat bearable. Jack was certain than both she and her grandfather were aware of that as well.

"Your voice just relaxes me so. Please, do continue, Kurotsuchi-dono." he smiled at her once more, making her blink owlishly and blush just ever so slightly.

The Kunoichi shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts and cleared her throat. Of coarse he would be making her feel uncomfortable. Even in his current state he still looked like something that came out of Michelangelo's hands. He found her reactions both funny and endearing. As of late she had been bringing him snacks and something to drink as well. He found himself particularly fond of the dango, that he was certain that she had made for him.

She continued on reading the book she had brought. It was a history book, but more of a journal, a witness account of some event or the other. It hadn't been long for the Kunoichi to come to the conclusion that this demon before her was a fan of such type of literature, despite her utter disbelief of said fact.

"Honorable Granddaughter." One of the guards poked had poked their heads through the door. "Tsuchikage-sama requires your presence."

Kurotsuchi sighed and placed the bookmark inside the book. She shut it and left it on the chair she had just been occupying. She gave the Dog Demon an apologetic glance and then headed out of the dungeons.

Jack watched her retreat long after the doors had been closed. His sensitive ears caught with ease her soft footsteps upon the stone ground and the mild, quiet conversation she was having with the ninja escorting her. There was a mention of a new seal that was supposed to be able to subdue him and also the word beads came up once or twice. For once, Jack Harper, the lazy and laid back Great Akita Demon extraordinaire, felt slightly worried.

**888**

There were many things that Fiona Johnson had seen in her life. Sometimes she's merely possess a mild stare on her face. Today, however, to Sasori's utter satisfaction, her face was just as incredulously gaping as the faces of her companions and friends, MJ and Rose. After all, it wasn't everyday you'd come face to face with a wayward princess of a minor little Land that wasn't really of any consequence. That just oh so happened to be turned into a flawless piece of art, along with her entire entourage of seven fully trained and prepared samurai guards.

"Holy Crap." the blonde exclaimed almost breathlessly, now out of her stupor. Her inquisitive blue eyes roamed carefully every inch of one Lady Itoshii's immortalized remains. Light porcelain skin with only the barest hints of a blush on her cheeks, thick eye-lashes fluttering above large charcoal doe-like eyes, thin, sculpted eyebrows, long tresses of silky, shiny brown-black hair expertly pulled up in an intricate design with various ornaments adorned. From whatever angle one would look at her, she was perfect.

"I can't see a single joint." Fiona hissed and scowled. "Is it a Genjutsu? It has to be. But... Kai!"

Needless to say, it didn't work.

"It is Henge." Lady Itoshii's soft voice murmured. It was light, soft and delicate, nothing like Sasori's usual voice and his three charges were yet again staring in wonder.

MJ had to suppress the urge to shiver. She knew that Sasori handled an impressive spy network all over the Elemental continent and perhaps even outside of it, but she'd never would've guessed that he was capable of such level of mimicry. This wasn't just dressing up or pretending to be someone else. The sheer fact that Sasori actually used the body directly and literally became the person he was using was very disturbing. Even if she'd never known this Lady Itoshii, she was fairly certain that Sasori had to have some sort of contact with her at some point, to have gotten to know her closely, to be able to impersonate her so well. The woman before her was the very essence of nobility.

"There is a carriage waiting for us outside, and I would rather not be late. Shall we go?" Lady Itoshii smiled pleasantly and headed out of the expensive hotel they were staying at. The three shared a look and followed closely by.

It was within the carriage itself that Sasori finally made Lady Itoshii drop her pleasant smile in favor of the far more familiar disinterested and slightly discontent expression that he usually wore.

"I've spoken with Leader-sama."he stated and Lady Itoshii's pleasant voice had taken on Sasori's typical way of speech. It was just so eerie to watch the almost instant transformation from a princes to just a mere puppet tool. The Henge, however, was still in place. "Seeing as there is nothing we could do any further about finding Deidara, we would just have to accept that he would be back on his own. Your knowledge of meteorology has proven to be quite helpful. Bad news is still news, and having any news at all is a better result to our primary mission than no news at all."

Fia pursed her lips. After spending several days observing the weather and the local geography, she had come to the conclusion that the storm had sent Deidara into Wind Country and from there he had been blown quite speedily out of the Elemental Countries. At least they knew his general direction and Fia almost desperately hoped he was not dead and that he'd find his way back somehow. After all, she supposed that if she'd done this cruel joke, she would've at least left a bag or something of the sort hanging from the balloon, as a sort of peace offering thingie for said prank. She knew that he could operate a flying clay bird. Hell, every person to have ever watched Naruto at some point in their lives knew that. But she still found herself worrying. There were little to none known facts about what lied west of the elemental countries. It has been quite some time since he had disappeared, but she took solace in the fact that ninja usually traveled by foot or by boat, and both ways were quite slow. It was quite possible, as well, that he may have lost his clay. But, in that case, wouldn't he have been able to make another batch of clay? Earth had only so many types of clay and earth and what not of various mixtures of silicates and oxides and what not and she was certain he could make do with what he could find.

Fia exhaled barely audibly and then gave MJ and Rose a glance. Rose sat next to this Lady Itoshii puppet and MJ was next to her, on the other side of the carriage, watching the scenery as they traveled towards their secondary mission. Fia wondered what they were thinking. Probably things of the sort that she was. About Deidara, at least. She looked at Lady Itoshii and bit her lower lip thoughtfully. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought that she was in the presence of a stranger. And yet... Who was this woman really? What had she been to Sasori to have had her turned into such a pristine puppet, along with such lovely clothes? There was always the chance that he used it only for certain types of missions, but even so Fia just couldn't help herself but imagine some sort of twisted little romance to have been going on. Then again Sasori was so not the type for romantic things. He had no time nor the desire to deal with anybody for long periods of time and she knew that first-hand. Hell, the only reason he tolerated her was because he saw her as someone with potential to be useful to him. And even so, he'd usually send her to do something in the opposite corner of his workshop, just to get her out of his hair so that he could finish whatever he was doing.

"Ano, Sasori-sempai." MJ suddenly spoke, bringing everyone's attention to herself. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to pass Kusa's borders with Fire Country. We still have our secondary mission to complete."

While neither really reacted to that information, the mention of being on the territory of Fire country made their hearts skip a beat. This entire thing was not just a mission to prove that they were capable, but to prove that they were loyal. Fia was certain that even MJ and L-chan were well aware they were being tested on that front as well, it was just too obvious.

Most of the journey itself was done in silence and by the time they arrived at a small village, it was already dusk. Sasori had the three of them wear more proper clothing for an entourage of a Princess and the three of them found themselves donning Kimonos. They weren't as fancy as whatever the Lady Itoshii was wearing, but with MJ's swift hair intervention, the three seemed somewhat passable as handmaidens. Rose had to keep her glasses on, but Sasori assured her it would not stand out too much. How could she even stand out when the puppet was practically the most beautiful thing they've ever seen to grace them with their presence.

_**CHAPTER BREAK**_

_**A/N: I think this here is an appropriately cliff hanger spot to cut the chapter. The whole thing is approximately over 50k long with a lot of movement and what not. I've been thinking whether or not to cut it up and post it in pieces or to post the whole thing, but I decided in the end to post this first part of the chapter, since I want your opinion on the new characters that have shown up. I hope I get some interesting reviews on this one, took me a while to settle everything. :)**_


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